Enoria is preparing for war with Irithara, and the team sans Kaleth are doing the best they can to put a stop to it before it progresses even further.
Their plan? Find Mereria, get her help with killing Relioth, and save Kaleth in the process. They...
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Mel wouldn't lie. He had been a little concerned about traveling with the ancient subway train, but it all worked out quite well. The train—or at least the part he had spent the majority of the trip in—was unbelievably well preserved. Sure, it was noticeable that the subway train wasn't new, but not fifty thousand years old. Or was it newer? Mel had no idea, but either way, the train looked better than some of the buses he'd see on TV.
The interior was very similar to the Umbra's hideaways and pretty much any other place built by the Eternals. With one big difference, though. The subway train had very comfortable seats. Usually, there were no seats in general because Eternals didn't need to sit down usually because they didn't get tired.
Mel wasn't complaining though. They made the unending hours of waiting to reach Aleara much easier to deal with. Especially when Kaleth took a break from discussing things with Lanyr or Hidarion to talk to Mel for a while. And sometimes hold his hand too. It was a bit odd because Mel was fairly sure Kaleth was still upset with him about not waiting for the others earlier and letting Nef go with them, but he wasn't complaining.
Mel couldn't help but notice, though, that Kaleth seemed regretful after every time he talked to Hidarion. Mel couldn't figure out why, though. Kaleth had only told him that he and Hidarion used to talk to each other when Kaleth had been visiting Irithara, pretending to be a diplomat from Enoria. Mel really didn't like that part—it seemed almost cruel to give Kaleth such a role given that he'd wanted to be one originally—but nevertheless, it didn't explain why Kaleth always looked so sad after talking to Hidarion.
Mel didn't want to ask, though. If Kaleth wanted to tell him, he would. Mel really wanted to ignore the thought that it was entirely possible that Kaleth just hadn't told him because he assumed Mel didn't care.
He wished their communication was better. Which was kind of ridiculous since they could sometimes hear each other's thoughts.
"How long before we get there?" Mel asked, fidgeting with his hands. Both he and Kaleth had been silent for about ten minutes, and though Mel didn't mind the silence—in fact, it was pretty nice—he just wanted to make sure Kaleth was all right. But he knew that if he asked directly, he'd receive a generic 'I'm fine'.
Kaleth brushed a hand through his hair as he frowned in thought. "Um, about half an hour, I believe. I would be more exact, but I didn't bring my watch."
Mel hadn't even known Kaleth had a watch, but he supposed it made sense. Usually, rich men in the TV shows he'd watched owned one. Mel frowned in worry as Kaleth yawned and rubbed his eyes.
"You should sleep if you're tired," Mel suggested, which had the exact opposite effect than he'd intended. Kaleth's eyes snapped open, and he gave Mel a rather unconvincing smile. It made Mel even more wary. Kaleth was usually an excellent liar and actor. He'd proved as much this past month.
"I don't need sleep," Kaleth replied, and Mel remained unconvinced. Particularly because Kaleth hadn't argued against being tired itself.
Kaleth sighed out in exasperation and repeated: "I don't."
