Galaxy of Hyperion: Mystic Heir

Chapter Forty-One: Lines in Blood

When the Clan Leaders were next back in Hyperion, it didn't take long for them to be informed of all the details that they had missed out on, starting with the attack that Alba had attempted to carry out. Jayler was upset at first that he and the rest of his team hadn't been around to make sure that the other occupants of the castle were safe, but he forced himself to get over it eventually. After all, he understood well that there were more important matters that required his attention, and he forced himself to concentrate on what was bound to come next. 

Their priority from then had to be on finding Alba and stopping them before anything could grow worse than it already had been. There were already members of the Fearbringers and Draconic Superiors out looking for where Alba had disappeared to in the aftermath of the last battle, though Jayler hadn't heard many of the details. He supposed that made sense given the context of the situations, but he still found himself antsy and in search of any new information that he could get his hands on. There had to be something out there that would soothe his fears, but he sure as hell hadn't found it yet. 

But there was one thing that Jayler noticed the next time that he was in the castle, and he did what he could to address it as soon as possible. He walked up to Jay with his hands tucked behind his head in a casual gesture to make it clear to her that he meant no harm. Of course, she was bound to already understand that because she was fully aware of how he acted, but it was still something that Jayler found himself doing, perhaps for his own comfort rather than hers. "Hey there, Jay," he greeted casually. 

Jay, who had been focusing on cleaning off her trusty blade, perked up and glanced in his direction, the purple star marking on her cheek more prominent than ever before. "Jayler! It's good to see you here. I didn't realize that you and the rest of the Clan Leaders were going to be here in Hyperion today," she remarked. She set her cloth aside and held the sword up to the light, examining it to make sure that there were no streaks or stains left behind from her last training match. When she was sufficiently satisfied, she nodded to herself and slid the blade back into its sheath. "What is it that's on your mind?"

"Well, I've noticed that Zelda has been acting nicer ever since we got back here. I'm willing to bet that there's only one thing that would cause her to perk up to such a degree. You're probably getting along with her better than before given that you two have never really been the best of friends but are now really close," Jayler remarked simply, taking a seat beside her. "I mean, I know that you've been trying to figure out how to talk to her about all of this for a while now, and I think that it's the most likely explanation for all of this, you know?"

Jay hesitated before nodding, a small smile spreading across her face. "Yeah... You could say that. We finally sat down and decided to talk out all of the issues that we've been having as of late, and it went rather well, I have to say. I'm glad that we were able to get that off our chests," she confessed. "She and I... Our past is rather complicated as I'm sure you've already noticed, but we're doing a better job of moving past it now."

"Does this mean that you forgave her for everything that happened with the Skylox Heroes?" Jayler asked, regretting the question almost as soon as he asked it. He doubted that Jay would be openly upset with him for asking given that she was in such a good mood, but he still didn't want to push the subject more than he had to. 

"I don't know if 'forgive' is the right word here, but... We agreed that we can't spend all our time directing hate at one another if we want to stop Alba and save the rest of the Galaxy of Hyperion from their dangerous goals. If we want to make progress, we have to act like adults and try to think about the rest of the universe. That's the conclusion that we came to, and... We agreed that we have to just take it one step at a time. I doubt that I'll ever be able to truly forget about what happened with the Skylox Heroes, but Mersall was the one who ordered their deaths. He's already dead as well, thanks to you and the Clan Leaders, so..." Jay trailed off, uncertain as to how she was meant to finish the sentence.