Exiled for her high ideals, Asa leaves her home planet to continue her medical career on Concordia in the Eulian Outskirts. Though the Celest-ruled empire is a drastic change from her nomadic tribe, she is determined to take the species' knowledge t...
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It had been thirty hours since she last saw Renvir, thirty hours since he pushed her away. Asa crossed her arms and squeezed them. No, thirty hours since she had pushed him away. Even though the sheets had been washed, her pillow still held remnants of the Celest's pine scent from the day she'd snuck him in.
Despite needing to do her daily check-in with him, she had clung to the bed for hours. The image of his burning, angry eyes held her there until a few hours ago. It left an ache in her chest.
Now, by some Two-forsaken magic, the medic stood at his door. It had bent further off its frame and didn't appear fully latched. She hesitated to knock, unsure if he was even there.
The make-shift hinges creaked as she pushed the door open. Pieces of pottery laid strew in front of the entryway. One of the chairs had fallen over, and the curtain that previously hid the bed now laid on the floor, revealing a lumpy mass of sheet and Celest.
Renvir mumbled something about the wind then lifted his head from the pillow-less mattress. Slowly, he slid off the other side of the bed with his back to her. He heaved a sigh, then rose to his feet and turned around.
When he saw her, he froze, his face becoming an emotionless void. Asa, on the other hand, felt various feelings swirling through her. Anger, shame, remorse, and an unholy shock through her veins while she studied his bare chest. The Celest's lips curled into a snarl.
"I thought I told you to leave."
The medic's grip on her bag's handle tightened. While his eyes didn't hold the same amount of rage, she had to force herself to step inside.
"I did. And now I'm back to do your daily check-up."
"You were not supposed to come back."
"You never specified that." Her fingers drummed against her arm. She had rehearsed this probably fifty or more times on the way here, out loud nonetheless. Two help those she passed on her way.
The medic scurried to the table like scared prey. Not because she feared being torn to shreds or forced into a kiss against her will. No, this was a much bigger fear, one that had found a home inside ever since her exile, fear of abandonment. Fear that she couldn't fix her mistakes.
Nearly silent, she began laying out her equipment and notes. Renvir's eyes locked on her. She left the bag on her shoulder for some source of comfort. She wouldn't blame him if he were angry, but she hoped she wasn't too late to fix the rift widening between them.
"I thought I made it obvious. You are not to see me anymore or touch my child."
Asa paused, fingers resting on the vitals machine. She tried to remember her conversation with herself earlier, but the thickening tension as he stepped closer forced her to improvise.
