Polemos

Chapter Five

    Thalleous knocked on Sulliman's door with Hawken and Senn behind him. "Thalleous Sendaris," he said with a smirk. Since Hawken was Senn's only experience with a human man, he was a bit startled by Sulliman's appearance. Sulliman was a man dressed in clothing for aristocrats but was a scruffy, drunk-looking man who already made Senn feel uneasy. "And Hawken what a surprise," Hawken crossed his arms. "Go fuck yourself." Thalleous cut in. "We need to talk." Sulliman let them in. "I believe I have something of your liking." while Thalleous and Sulliman conversed, Senn approached Hawken. "Where did your hatred come from?" he asked. Hawken sighed. "He's a man with too much power over a man who's a prince."

"What did Thalleous tell him?" hesitant, Hawken looked to see if Thalleous was paying attention, when he wasn't, Hawken turned back to Senn. "I think you already know." It took a while for Senn to catch on, but Hawken was right, he did know. Sulliman was the type of man who would ruin Thalleous life if he knew about his attraction to men. Which he did. "Oh," Senn said. "If he was so worried, then why did he tell you?" he asked. "Because I'm not going to blackmail a man for being himself." just then, Thalleous called out. "Senn," Thalleous approached the both of them. "Hold out your hand," when Senn obliged, Thalleous put a glowing yellow stone in his hand. "You mustn't let anyone hear about this, not Ria, not your father, understand?" a bit afraid of Thalleous' seriousness, Senn nodded. Hawken furrowed his eyebrows but said nothing.

When they left, Hawken couldn't keep from telling Thalleous how stupid he was being. "So you've gone from being Sulliman's errand boy to his slave." he retorted. "Stop," Thalleous whispered. "Why didn't you tell me? And why would you trust Senn with it?" Hawken hissed. "He's clanless, no one will suspect him."

"That's the only reason people will suspect him!" this was the first time Senn had ever seen them fight, and he hated it. "Why can't you just trust me for once!?" this comment almost drove Hawken to tears. "All I've ever done is trust you, Thalleous!" seeing Hawken's reaction to his outburst automatically made him regret it. He loved Hawken. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt him, and yet that was what he just did. "I've been the only thing to trust you! I've stayed here for years just to support you and nothing's been coming out of it!" Hawken exclaimed tears in his eyes. "Go back to where you came from then," a surge of guilt and regret fell over Thalleous' heart after he said such a thing. Both Hawken and Senn, who had been listening, were shocked. Hawken had enough and walked away. "Hawken..." Senn called. Hawken didn't reply.

~...~

Thalleous was in shambles. He had just lost his only friend. He and Senn had settled into an inn for the night, but while Senn was trying to sleep, Thalleous stared into the night sky, dried tears on his cheeks. "Thalleous?" Senn called out, sitting in the chair next to him. "Are you going to be okay?" not wanting to have Senn worry about him, Thalleous wiped his tears. "Yes, of course. It was my fault anyway." Senn paused. He understood that talking about it would only make Thalleous feel worse. "What is this?" he asked, pulling the stone from earlier out. "During the Great War, people of high respect, such as the Tidesinger, used them to enhance their powers. We called them Songs. The most powerful of these were called Prime Songs. They were given to the Kings so their power wouldn't end up in the wrong hands." Thalleous explained. "Then how did Sulliman get it?" Thalleous sighed. "I gave it to him for safekeeping, but some...things have come up and he can't keep it anymore." Thalleous started to get somber once more, forcing Senn to change the subject again. "Do you know who my family is?" Thalleous stared at Senn before he could process what he was asked. Senn had obviously wondered this before, but it was brought up to him until today, and he was anything but ready to tell him. "No."

"So who found me?" he pried. "Senn, you're not old enough for that story." although upset by the rejection, Senn changed the subject once more. "So what now?" he asked. "We go home."