Chapter Text
The heat in Toto’haha was oppressive.
Their group of eight had docked at Beastling Bay earlier that day, marking the first time Hikari had been to this part of the world. He was immediately struck by the lush plants, the thickness of the forests, and the sticky humidity that made Ku’s desert climate feel temperate in comparison.
After spending the evening in Beastling Village, the travelers would begin the relatively short trek to Tropu’hopu. Partitio had heard a rumor about a guild of talented shipbuilders there, convincing the rest of the group they could benefit from their own vessel, provided he could negotiate a good price. They were traveling between the continents more often now, and Hikari had to admit it would be nice to not have to bribe the ferry staff to accommodate Ochette’s increasingly large menagerie of beasts. While they were there, Agnea wanted to see the famed floating theater of Tropu’hopu, and Ochette was assessing the island’s condition ahead of the Night of the Scarlet Moon.
It took about two hours in the midday sun, and Temenos nearly fainting in his heavy cleric’s robe, for Castti to insist on them all finding a change of clothes lest they get heat stroke.
After a quick trip to the human side of the village, they’d managed to purchase or trade for clothes to fit all of them well-enough, although Osvald’s pants were a bit shorter than he likely would have preferred.
Hikari was trying to figure out how to best attach his sword and holster to his new linen pants and shirt, the material feeling rather unfamiliar on his skin, when he heard Agnea ask from a few feet away, “Castti, do I look entirely ridiculous?”
He looked up curiously, and his mouth immediately went dry.
As the smallest human member of their group, Agnea had elected to borrow an extra set of clothing from Ochette and just sew up the tail hole, saving them some money. But although her frame was tiny, she was still several inches taller than their Beastling companion, which meant the shirt and skirt that hung loosely on Ochette was shorter and rather form-fitting on Agnea. Hikari felt his face heat up as he tried (and failed) to avoid looking at her exposed midriff and shapely legs.
“You look fine, Agnea,” Castti assured her. “But the important thing is that you are comfortable. We can find a new outfit if you prefer.”
“No, it’s okay,” Agnea replied shyly. “I’m just not used to showin’ this much skin, is all. I’m sure I’ll get used to it though, and it is much cooler.” She then did a little dance move as if to test out the mobility of her new outfit, and Hikari nearly dropped his sword.
His fumbling with his blade attracted the attention of the two women, and Castti immediately honed in on his red face, mistaking it for heat-related illness.
“Hikari, are you feeling okay?” she asked, coming over to him and pressing the back of her hand against his forehead. “You should move to the shade if you’re getting too warm.”
“I’ve got some water here if you need it!” Agnea said brightly, seemingly forgetting her outfit woes to offer him her waterskin.
“I’m okay,” he tried to assure them, but his voice was about an octave higher than normal. He cleared his throat, noticing Temenos snickering behind his hand out of the corner of his eye. “Not too warm.”
Ochette bounded up to them, a welcome distraction. “I’m going to head into the forest to hunt up some fresh meat for dinner!”
“I’ll go with you,” Hikari immediately offered, seizing the opportunity to clear his head, tying his belt into a knot and deeming that good enough. “Let me just grab my spear.”
“O-okay!” Ochette said in surprise, but seemed pleased at the prospect of company nonetheless.
He felt a small hand on his arm. “Hikari, don’t overdo it if you’re not feeling well,” Agnea said, concern evident in her voice. He hazarded a glance at her and immediately wished he hadn’t as his imagination betrayed him.
The idea of wrapping an arm around her waist came unbidden to his mind. His fingers would splay out against her bare skin as he pulled her closer to him. Perhaps she would giggle, looking up at him with those big blue eyes and snaking an arm around his neck while he…
Brand preserve me… he thought, pulling himself out of his self-indulgent daydream and back to reality.
“I’ll be fine,” he said to Agnea, stepping away from her to put some space between them, her arm falling limply to her side. “A walk in the woods will do me good.” He attempted a reassuring smile which likely looked more like a grimace, grabbed his spear, and followed Ochette towards the trail.
These feelings were really starting to become a problem…
He knew pretty early on in their journey that he felt differently about Agnea than the others. She made his stomach flip and his chest feel warm, especially when she danced, but it was a pleasant feeling that made him want to be around her as much as possible. The more he got to know her, the more beautiful and precious she became to him, but it took him an embarrassingly long time to realize what would probably be obvious to others with a more normal upbringing.
He was entirely besotted with her.
Growing up, Hikari never really thought much about romance. As the second son of the King, he would have been expected to marry, of course. But he wouldn’t have had much choice in the matter, likely to have had an arranged marriage with the daughter of a political ally. His focus growing up was on honing his military skills, and then managing the castle town, which didn’t leave him much time to pursue any sort of relationship even if he’d wanted to. He’d always considered the prospect unlikely anyway, not wanting to start something with a woman when he couldn’t promise her any sort of future.
But perhaps he’d just never met someone like her.
Lately he’d been considering his future more and more. Provided he survived his journey, he would either be King or a political nobody. And in either case, he’d be free to marry as he wished. Perhaps someone like Agnea, who had such a talent for bringing joy and happiness to all, would be good for Ku…
He shook those thoughts out of his head. Agnea had never given an indication she felt anything for him beyond friendship, and a woman like her would have no shortage of suitors. Hikari wouldn’t even know how to begin courting her.
“You could make sure no one else can have her,” the slippery, cackling voice of his shadow self whispered. “Take your blade and run it through her pretty…”
Hikari grimaced, tamping down the voice with the memory of Agnea dancing at Montraine’s Tavern in New Delsta, the patrons cheering for her as she moved with such practiced grace.
The shadow was yet another reason he shouldn’t pursue anything – it had taken a particular interest in Agnea lately, a perverse reflection of Hikari’s own feelings for the dancer. Ironically, he found that thinking about or talking to her was the easiest way for him to fight the shadow.
She made everything better.
Hikari sighed, realizing he was lagging several feet behind Ochette on the trail to the forest. Waiting for his feelings to lessen or dissipate hadn’t been an effective strategy thus far. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to learn a bit about courting rituals, just in case.
“Ochette?” Hikari asked tentatively, his gaze on a Beastling couple working on a small plot of land outside their hut.
“Yes?” she replied, stopping her progress down the trail to look back at him.
“How do Beastlings… court?”
Ochette’s brow furrowed. “We don’t really have courts, not like humans do,” she replied, misunderstanding. “When we disagree, we usually just get someone else to listen to both sides and…”
“No, my apologies, that’s not quite what I meant,” he interrupted. “How do you all…” He paused, trying to come up with the right words to make her understand his question. Did Beastlings get married? He didn’t think so… “How do you decide who you want to be with, you know, romantically…?”
“Oh, you mean like picking a mate?” she asked, eyes bright with understanding.
“Yes,” he affirmed, his face a bit warm.
She giggled. “Well, usually when you find someone you like, you would give them small gifts. Find out what kind of jerky they like best.” She paused, thinking. “Then you’d help them with their chores or do something to make their day easier. Basically you just do what you normally do, but together.”
“Small gifts… help with chores… time together…” Hikari was muttering to himself as if taking mental notes. He realized she was still looking at him thoughtfully. “Thank you, Ochette. That was… actually very helpful.”
She nodded, turning to continue into the woods before pausing and turning back to him.
“Hikarin?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t get Aggie jerky. Get her flowers. She’ll like that much better.”
Just like before, the redness on Hikari’s face was not due to Toto’haha’s oppressive heat.
Everyone was excited by the King Iguana that Ochette and Hikari managed to bring back, and they were equally pleased it was Agnea’s turn to cook that evening - she and Partitio were by far the best cooks of the group.
Hikari noticed her organizing ingredients and remembered his earlier conversation with Ochette about Beastling courting rituals. Help them with their chores…
“Would you like some assistance with dinner, Agnea?”
She looked up at him, surprised. Cooking was not necessarily a strength of his, but she smiled and handed him the knife she was holding anyway.
“That would be great, Hikari! Why don’t you chop up some of this fruit while I prepare the meat?”
He nodded, setting about his task, which was genuinely fascinating given the unfamiliar fruits that grew on the island. He inspected one that was a bright fuchsia color with what appeared to be light green spikes on the outside, and was surprised to see a white, speckled flesh when he cut into it.
“That’s called dragon fruit,” Agnea mentioned, seeing his puzzled expression. “I’ve never had it either, but Throné said they would sometimes get it brought in for the restaurants on the eastern continent.”
He popped a piece into his mouth, noting the strong, tangy flavor and unique texture, and offered one to her.
“We would import fruit from the Leaflands in Ku, but it was a delicacy, so most of the people never developed much of a sweet tooth. I only had it so often growing up because I lived in the palace,” he admitted.
She chewed her dragon fruit with a thoughtful expression. “But you like sweets, right?”
“I do,” he confirmed.
She giggled. “I figured with the way you tucked into those crepes we had in New Delsta. You looked like just like Ochette with her jerky!” He felt his cheeks heat up as she reached in front of him, her arm brushing his as she grabbed an oval-shaped fruit about the size of an apple from the pile and cut a slice. “Here, try this.”
He bit into it, immediately enamored with the sweetness and soft texture. “That’s a mango,” Agnea explained. “I’ve only had them a couple of times before, when I was travelin’ with Mama as a girl, but when they’re just ripe enough they can be sweeter than even the Cropdale peaches.”
“You know what would be really sweet, Hikari?” the voice within whispered. “Take that knife and slice through her skin. Make her scream, make her bleed…”
Hikari closed his eyes momentarily, thinking of a smiling Agnea laughing and singing in order to shove his shadow self back into the deepest corner of his mind.
“How wonderful it must have been to grow up in a place where crops flourish instead of struggling to survive,” he thought out loud. Hikari was proud of his desert nation, but there was something to be said for living in a place that was not actively trying to kill you.
Agnea giggled. “I may not have grown up in no palace, but the Bristarnis never were hurtin’ for fruit or flowers.” She paused in her preparation of the meat, looking wistful. “Every year for the festival, Mama would make the best raspberry and peach pies in the world. She always had Papa help with the choppin’ even though he was no good in the kitchen.” She quieted a bit. “After Mama died, he didn’t smile for a real long time. But when the next festival rolled around, I made the pies and I made him help. My pies have never been as good as Mama’s, but every year he chops, and it always makes him smile.”
He smiled softly at her story. “How is your father faring back at home?”
“He seems okay,” she replied, her smile slipping slightly. “I worry about him, and about Pala. I hope they’re getting enough to eat, and managing the work around the house okay…”
“I’m sure they are, Agnea,” he assured her. “But I’m certain they miss you very much.”
“I miss them too,” she said quietly, then brightened again. “When I’m a star, I’m gonna wear Papa’s dresses when I dance. I hope that’ll make him happy.”
“I am certain that it will.”
Hikari recognized he was not the best conversationalist. He could be dour and overly serious, and sometimes didn’t know what he should say next. But Agnea put him at ease, and he never struggled for words when he was with her. She seemed to enjoy reflecting on memories as much as he did, and she kept conversation meaningful yet positive in a way that made him feel good and encouraged him to share.
“My mother liked cooking as well,” he told her. “The servants in the palace did most of the day-to-day, but she always insisted on making the special meals herself.”
She looked up at him with interest. “What kind of special meals did you have in Ku?”
“We would have rice balls with a rose syrup during festival season, and a spicy soup with dumplings for the new year,” he answered, smiling as he remembered the taste of his home. “The Azuki porridge I told you about in Montwise before battles, of course… and my favorite was the sugared almond clusters my mother would make for my birthday every year.”
Agnea reached over and squeezed his hand, looking at him softly. “That all sounds really nice.”
“It was…” he trailed off. “Food’s interesting in that way. No matter what the culture or upbringing, everyone seems to have a dish that is special to them. It’s a good way for people to find what they have in common.”
She squeezed the hand she was still holding, then released it to finish skewering the meat to put over the fire. “Thank you for helping me with dinner, Hikari.”
He looked at the rather poorly chopped fruit in front of him, compared to the perfectly cut and marinated iguana now cooking over the fire. “I’m not sure how much help I really was… my culinary skills are pretty pathetic.”
She giggled, smiling brightly as she tossed all of the fruit into a large bowl and mixed it up to make a salad. “It’s not really about the skill, it’s about the company.”
Hikari was still not convinced he should be courting Agnea. She deserved someone better than him – someone untouched by darkness who could match her own light. But he knew one thing…
He liked being the one to make her smile.