Chapter Text
Eunie and Taion weren’t like most couples in the City. They weren't even, officially, a couple. They hadn’t had some slow, steady courtship like Noah and Mio, nor the slow, almost imperceptible shift from friendship to love that Sena and Lanz shared. Eunie’s love was a small flame she felt sure she had always carried. It needed only to be stoked to become a fierce fire.
“What do you mean you’re leaving tomorrow?” Eunie asked as she and Taion left their shift at the hospital and headed towards the Lost Numbers’ dorms. “I haven’t heard one sparkin' thing about a mission.”
“Eunie, keep your voice down,” Taion whispered. “We can’t discuss this here.”
They retreated to Taion’s room within the tower the unmarried soldiers called home.
“So spill,” Eunie said. “What’s this mission and why don’t I know about it?"
Taion sighed. “You don’t know about it because you aren’t coming.”
“What?”
“It’s a mission for the survey branch.”
“But…you can’t be the only healer going," she said.
“I am, actually.”
“But who's supposed to heal you when you get hurt?”
“When?" he asked. "Is it a forgone conclusion that I’ll be injured?”
“Don’t get defensive,” Eunie said. “‘Every healer needs a healer.’ Is or isn’t that what you’re always lecturing me about?”
“Only when you downright refuse to admit to an injury.”
“Which I only do when you make a fuss over nothing.”
“A broken arm is not ‘nothing,’ Eunie, even if you can continue battle like that.”
“Whatever! You’re right, okay? Healers need healers, me included. So we agree that I’m coming with you.”
“It’s not up to me, Eunie.”
“I’ll go talk to the Elder then.”
“You’re not going to change his mind,” Taion said. “We need as few people as possible on this mission. The more of us there are, the more likely we could be detected by Agnian or Kevesi forces, even Moebius.”
“But you need me there,” Eunie protested.
“Eunie!” Taion snapped. “For once could you trust that I’m capable of doing my job, instead of expecting me to fail without your assistance?”
“You know it isn’t like that! I trust you with my life.”
“But not with my own life.”
“That’s not––”
“Then what’s the reason, Eunie?” Taion demanded.
“It’s because I love you, you idiot!”
Eunie’s eyes widened as she realized what she’d just said. They both stood rooted in place.
“W-what?” Taion managed to ask.
Eunie’s fight-or-flight response kicked in. Screw it, she thought. She was already this deep in.
She stepped toward him. All her usual confidence had vanished. Even as she felt sick to her stomach with nerves, she knew she needed to get this out. She'd already confessed. No turning back now. She took a steadying breath.
“I said I love you, Taion. Is that…really such a surprise?”
She’d been flirting with him for a long while now, teasing him in far more obvious ways than when they were younger. She had seen how he blushed and stuttered. She was fairly sure what she felt for him was mutual. But she had been in no rush to bring it up. They had so much time ahead of them, she thought. They were still so young, only six terms old. And yet, in reality, that meant their lives were already more than half over. Even in the City, even among the naturally-born, too many people died young. By the age of fifteen––or in the case of a cradle-born, six terms––the City recognized them as adults. Old enough to fight. Old enough to wed. Even some of the women in the maternity ward weren’t much older than Eunie. Learning that Taion had been given a mission with the Lost Numbers––a very real mission with very real risks––just drove home the fact they did not have time to lose.
“Taion?”
He still had yet to say anything. The silence was eating her alive.
“S-sorry,” he said. “I’m just…processing.”
Eunie nodded, trying to mask her disappointment. This was just Taion’s nature. He needed time to sort through his thoughts when something threw him off guard.
“If you need time to think it over, I can go,” Eunie offered, turning toward the door.
“No! No, you don’t have to do that.” He reached out for her, placing a hand on her shoulder and turning her toward him. His eyes locked on hers. “I want you to stay.”
Eunie blushed as he placed a hand on her cheek and used the other to pull her closer.
He took a shaky breath. “I want…”
He didn’t finish the thought with words. He pressed his lips against hers, softly, sweetly. It was Eunie’s turn to freeze, her brain taking several moments to register what was happening. In every daydreamed scenario, she’d felt sure she would be the one to initiate their first kiss, but she couldn’t have imagined how incredibly fulfilling, thrilling, wonderful a kiss could be.
She kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him closer. In all of an instant, the gentle warmth between them sparked into a fire. They pressed as close together as they could, arms wound tight around one another, hands tangled in each other’s hair. Eunie only pulled away when she felt her lungs would burst.
“I love you,” Taion breathed, pressing his forehead to hers.
Eunie didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as elation and relief flooded through her.
“I’ve loved you for ages, Eunie,” Taion said. “I just didn’t think I would tell you quite like this.”
“Oh?" she asked. "And how did you plan to tell me then?”
“Well, first I would ask you to dinner at your favorite restaurant. The one with the Kevesi cuisine––”
“The Nopon Lanana’s place?”
“That’s the one. Then after, we would take a walk along the beach, preferably at sunset, and I’d ask for us to begin a courtship.”
Eunie raised an eyebrow. “A courtship, really? So traditional.”
“Well, I wanted to do things properly.”
She laughed. “Guess I spoiled those plans, eh?”
He smiled. “I’m not complaining. And we can still salvage most of the plan, if you’d like.”
“You asking me out?”
“As I understand it, that is something couples typically do,” he said with more than a hint of teasing.
“Well, then. If that's the convention, looks like we have a date.”
They were both smiling like idiots, Eunie thought, but she didn’t care.
“We can go as soon as I get back,” Taion said.
The words hit Eunie like cold water. “Right. The mission. There’s really no chance I can come along? I just...I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I’ll be alright, darling,” he said, stroking her cheek. That simple gesture and endearment, both so new, sent a tingle through her body. She leaned into his touch.
“You better,” she said. “You owe me a date, after all.”
"You know me. I’m nothing if not reliable.”
She smiled. “True.”
Moonlight peaked through the shuttered windows of the room. Eunie took a deep breath, reluctant to leave his embrace.
“I guess I should let you sleep,” she said. “It’s getting late and you’ve got an early start. Would you mind if I come by in the morning? To see you off?”
“I don’t mind at all. But you could…” A blush bloomed across Taion's face and he avoided meeting her eyes. He forced the words out in a rush. “You could stay here tonight. Just to sleep, I mean! I don’t mean to suggest––”
She cut him off with a kiss.
“I’ll stay.”
Taion breathed a sigh of relief and hugged her, resting his chin atop her head, mindful of her wings.
“I love you, Eunie.”
She closed her eyes and savored the warmth, the comfort, the safety of their embrace. “I love you, too.”
Despite his assurances, Taion did not return from the mission unharmed. Eunie was on shift at the hospital when the Lost Numbers returned to the City.
“Taion!”
She rushed to his side as a team of medics transferred him from a stretcher onto a bed. She followed as they rushed him into a room.
Blood darkened the bandages that had been hastily applied to the wounds across his chest.
“Moebius attack,” one of the Lost Numbers said. “Those monstrous claws––it took a swipe at Taion.”
“Get the doctor!” Eunie shouted to no one in particular.
“Eunie?” Taion asked, his voice hoarse, his breathing labored, and his eyes closed against the pain. He struggled to take in his surroundings, but briefly met her gaze before a fresh wave of pain overtook him.
She placed a hand on his cheek. “I’m right here, love. We’re going to get you healed up, alright?”
The doctor joined them and began directing the medics.
“Eunie, go to the waiting room," the doctor said. "You’re in no state to help.”
Eunie wiped away the tears trailing down her cheeks, which did little to hide her distress.
“The snuff I’m not,” she said.
“Eunie,” the doctor warned.
“I’m staying!”
The doctor relented. “Fine. But you must do exactly as I say!”
Eunie followed the doctor’s instructions, even as her heart wrenched at seeing her love in so much pain. She suppressed the urge to retch upon seeing the severity of Taion’s wounds. She focused solely on one thought: they would heal him. There was no alternative. If she had to use every bit of healing ether in her body to save Taion, she would.
Eventually, they stilled the bleeding. Taion jolted as a nurse cleaned and sanitized the wounds. Eunie whispered assurances to him that everything was alright, it would all be done soon. The doctor instructed her to wash up while a nurse applied fresh bandages. Eunie walked to the sink in a daze, watching as the water rinsed the blood––Taion’s blood––off her hands, coating the white porcelain sink in streaks of red and brown. Her usually-steady hands trembled as she returned to his bedside.
“Eunie,” Taion said. He knew the sound of her footsteps. He opened his eyes.
“Careful,” the doctor cautioned as Taion tried to sit up. “That monster cut you pretty deep, lad. But you’re all healed up now. Give it some time and you’ll be right as rain.”
Eunie felt the worst of her tension ease. “Thank you,” she said to the doctor. She thanked all of the medics profusely.
“Now then,” the doctor said. “Someone will come around in an hour or two to check in. Eunie, I trust you’ll look after Taion here and let us know if he needs anything.”
She nodded. “Yes. Thank you.”
The instant they were alone, she leaned over Taion’s bed and kissed him, careful not to put the slightest weight on his injuries.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“No. No snuffin' apologies. You’re here. You’re okay. That’s all that matters.” She kissed him again. “I love you,” she said. “I love you and I’m going to kick the Elder’s arse.”
“It’s not his fault, Eunie. Risk comes with the job.”
Eunie’s wings twitched in agitation and Taion changed the topic.
“Guess we’ll have to take a rain-check on our date,” he said, his disappointment evident.
Eunie shook her head. “Forget the date. Forget courtship and all the bloody waiting. Let's skip it. Snuff if I’m going to spend one more day away from you.”
Taion leaned back and studied her face, but found no hint of jest. “Eunie? You don't mean...you don't mean you want to get married do you? So soon?”
He sounded surprised, Eunie noted, but not at all opposed.
“We can,” Eunie said. “Or if it’s too fast…I just want to be with you. We cradle-born…we have so little time. I just want to spend it with you.”
She took his hand in hers, kissing the term mark on his palm that was already more than half depleted.
He squeezed her hand in return. “I want that, too.”
He sighed. “Well, it’s not how I had it planned, but…plans are overrated.”
She looked at him in astonishment. “I think I should fetch the doctor for you, love. Scrapping plans? That’s crazy talk coming from you.”
“Maybe you’re just rubbing off on me, darling.”
Queens, she thought. He could even make a joke so snuffing sweet.
“Careful!” Eunie cautioned as he slowly sat up.
“It’s alright,” he assured. “Though I don’t think I can get down on one knee.”
He summoned a Mondo to his hand. The paper creature held out a small box which Taion took. With a bow, the Mondo disappeared.
“Taion…” Eunie said. “How long have you had this planned?”
He smiled. “If I told you, I might scare you off.”
Eunie shook her head. “Too late for that, babe. You’re stuck with me.”
“I see. Well, in that case…” He opened the box to reveal a Solis Ring. Leave it to Taion to find something both precious and practical.
He took one of her hands in his own. “I love you, Eunie, more than anything else. Will you marry me?”
Eunie laughed in a way she never had before––pure, unrestrained joy bubbling over.
“Hell yeah I will.”
Their sudden engagement shocked their friends, but all offered their wholehearted support. Having recently tied the knot themselves, Noah and Mio were happy to offer advice. Sena and even Lanz offered to help make arrangements. Eunie and Taion held a small, simple ceremony. They wore the traditional bright red kimono of the City and exchanged rings and vows in the customary way. They spent their first week of marriage holed up together in a hotel room overlooking the ocean. It was the happiest Eunie had ever been or would be in that life.
All too soon, real life resumed. Eunie and Taion agreed to become Ouroboros candidates. Snuff if Eunie was ever leaving her husband to do battle without her. She hoped with the power of Ouroboros they could protect their home and all those they cared for. But no sooner had they obtained the Ouroboros Stone from Queen Nia in the Cloudkeep than Noah proposed that the six of them abandon the City, the war, all of it.
“We fight Moebius life after life in an endless cycle,” he said, pacing about the tent the six of them had pitched on Captocorn Peak. “And now even the City seeks to make warriors of us cradle-born. Why can’t we live life on our terms? Isn’t that the entire philosophy behind the City?”
“Noah,” Eunie said. “The City is our home. We can’t just abandon it!”
The others agreed.
“You four can return to the City if you want,” Noah said. He looked at Mio. His voice broke. “We won’t be returning with you.”
“What?” Taion said. “Noah, how can you betray us like this?”
“You’re just going to abandon us?” Sena demanded.
“We have the Ouroboros Stone now!” Eunie said. “What the spark are you thinking?”
“We trusted you!” Lanz yelled. “We followed you for all this time! It was your idea for us to become Ouroboros in the first place!”
“Things have changed!” Noah said. “You don’t understand!”
“Then tell us,” Eunie pleaded. “What changed?”
Mio, who had remained silent all the while, placed a protective hand on her stomach. Noah covered her hand with his own.
“No…” Taion whispered. “Mio, don’t tell us you’re…”
“Pregnant,” Mio confirmed.
“And you want Mimi to go live in the wilderness?” Sena shouted at Noah. “She needs to be around doctors and nurses. Not running around Aionios––”
“And you think the Elder won’t have her doing exactly that as Ouroboros?” Noah asked. “He’ll have her on the front lines.”
Sena shook her head. “The people of the City––”
“Are the descendants of Ouroboros,” Noah said. “It’s far from the first time an Ouroboros had a child. If their ancestors didn’t pause the war with Moebius for the sake of their families, what makes you think they’ll afford Mio and me the chance? In the City, all else comes second to the war with Moebius. You think the Elder wouldn’t sacrifice Mio and our child to take a shot at the enemy?”
“There are alternate candidates,” Taion reasoned. “You don’t have to become Ouroboros. Your emotions are getting the better of you, Noah. You’re not thinking clearly.”
“I’ve never seen things more clearly!” Noah snapped. “My life is for Mio and our child. My family. That’s all that matters to me now. Nothing else. We’re leaving. Don’t try to stop us.”
Noah took Mio’s hand and ran out of the camp, into a blizzard.
They called after them, but the couple never looked back.
“We have to bring them back!” Sena said. “They could freeze to death in that storm. I can go. My ether will keep me warm.”
“I’ll go with you,” Lanz said. “You guys stand by here. No offense, but you’re not equipped for this weather.”
“We’ll start a fire and be prepared to treat Noah and Mio when you get back,” Eunie said.
They stood by for hours, Eunie relentlessly pacing the tent. Taion and Eunie were both trained healers. They knew that with every hour that passed, the chance of finding Noah and Mio alive dwindled.
“Snuff it all!” Eunie cursed. “What were they thinking?”
“I wonder…” Taion said, his voice quiet, thoughtful. “Would we have done the same thing, if we were in their situation?”
She dismissed this. "What? If we got pregnant unexpectedly? Wouldn’t happen. We’re smart enough to use protection.”
Taion shrugged. “Even so, the risk of pregnancy remains, however slim the possibility.”
Eunie tensed. What would she do if she found herself in the same position as Mio? If she and Taion had a child at this point in their lives, Eunie might live to see the child’s fourth birthday at best. She wasn’t sure she could handle that kind of heartbreak. She shook her head. She needed to deal with the situation at hand. Where the spark were their friends?
As if sensing her thoughts, Taion offered to go look for them. “I have a core crystal not dissimilar to Sena’s. The cold won’t affect me as harshly as it would you.”
“You’re not going out there alone!” Eunie said.
Before they could debate the matter further, Sena and Lanz returned. Eunie’s stomach dropped at seeing only the two of them.
“No sign of them,” Lanz said, his frustration evident. “All we can hope is that they found somewhere to shelter.”
Sena sat on the ground, hiding her face in her arms. Lanz wrapped his arms around her as her shoulders shook with sobs.
“Damn it!” Taion said.
Eunie kicked the air.
Taion and Eunie stayed up all night, praying Noah and Mio might find a way back. Exhausted from their search, Lanz and Sena fell asleep in each other’s arms. Taion held Eunie in his lap, the two of them wrapped in layers of blankets.
“The Lost Numbers should arrive in the morning to transport us home,” Taion said.
Eunie stared at the large, egg-like Stone pulsing with green ether in the center of the room.
“Then what?” she asked. “We become Ouroboros?”
Taion nodded.
“Do you think we could actually do what Noah wanted?” she asked. “Build a new life, the six of us, away from everything?”
Taion answered as if the question was purely hypothetical. “If we all worked together, we might manage."
"There are alternate candidates…” she said.
He nodded. “There are.”
In her fatigue, Eunie found her thoughts spilling from her mouth without filter or pause. “Suppose the Lost Numbers come here tomorrow and all they find is that Stone? They’d still have the power of Ouroboros. We wouldn’t be leaving the City defenseless.”
“Eunie, are you serious?” He wasn’t asking rhetorically. Her husband’s tone was gentle, curious.
She took a deep breath. “I just…I’ve never known Noah and Mio to steer us wrong before.”
“That’s true,” Taion said. “But we’re also tired and not thinking clearly.”
“Still, my gut is telling me we should find Noah and Mio. Hear them out, at least.”
Taion pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Let’s discuss it with Lanz and Sena when they wake. In the meantime, you should rest. I’ll stay up.”
Eunie nodded and allowed herself to sleep. She dreamed of another life, in another world. A world without war. A world without term marks. A world where she and Taion could take their time falling in love, and then, eventually, welcome a child. A world where Taion and Eunie could watch their children grow up. Where the two of them could grow old together, and see so much more than a short ten years allowed. Perhaps, someday, she dreamed, they would have those things. In another life.