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When the stars whispered about a Stellaron vessel, that was really all it took to get Aha's attention. It had definitely caught Xipe's attention too, but it hadn't excited them in the way it had excited their companion.
Xipe could see the way Aha vibrated with excitement at the thought of such an unpredictability, and so The Harmony didn't stop The Elation when they had practically teleported away from their spot to go and see the boy that the stars whispered about.
It had amused Xipe to see Aha so excited about a new unpredictability. While it did slightly annoy The Harmony that Aha had taken off while they were busy conversing, it was also extremely amusing to watch Aha zip off to go see every new little unpredictability. Such was the way of The Elation, to find something new to entertain themself with while appreciating what kept them entertained for the moment.
So, Xipe had continued to watch over Penacony in its current state, knowing that Aha would come back and tell them what was going on if it was truly so interesting to The Elation. Xipe had no doubt that such an unpredictability would be astounding to Aha though. A Stellaron vessel sounded like a disaster waiting to happen.
Xipe could only blame the world for putting such an innocent person in such a delicate state of balance. People must have been getting desperate if they were using an actual person to house a Stellaron. Xipe's thoughts about the situation only grew darker the more they thought about it. The poor soul who hadn't asked to house a Stellaron in their body...
A slight exhale left Xipe as they shook their head, trying to rid themself of the thoughts that were starting to plague their mind. Still, the poor thing who hadn't asked to house such destructive power in their body... The poor mortal was probably suffering effects from having such power in their body.
"Xipe!"
... Aha had returned. Xipe could feel the excitement radiating from them and was now curious. Was the Stellaron vessel so intriguing that they were exciting to Aha? How interesting. Still, Xipe tilted their head, looking at Aha. "How did it go? No one saw you, I hope?"
Aha laughed their usual laugh, waving their hand in a nonchalant motion. "Of course not! I used a disguise to blend in amongst the humans! Come now, Xipe, do you think I'd let myself get found out just because of my curiosity? I can be careful too, you know!"
Xipe chuckled calmly as Aha made a show of pouting. Of course they knew that. But with how eccentric Aha was and what they did for entertainment at times, it was almost impossible for Xipe not to worry about the lengths Aha would go to if it meant entertaining themself (they might have been close, but Xipe was not blind and knew that Aha could be a downright nutcase at times).
That was irrelevant for the moment though. What really mattered was- "Did you get the chance to see the Stellaron vessel that the stars whispered about, Aha?"
Xipe watched as Aha lit up faster than they could blink, clearly excited to share what they had found out with Xipe. "Oh! Yes, yes, I did! He's a wonder, that Stellaron vessel! Amazing, I tell you! Such an unpredictability! Though he would be so much more fun if he smiled more and wore brighter colored outfits!"
"Is that so? You'll have to tell me more."
Aha took the chance to do so, describing the male in terms of looks since that was all The Elation had seen from the distance. Xipe listened to Aha with rapt attention as Aha yammered on and on about how a male that looked so youthful should smile more to prevent wrinkles. From Aha's description, it sounded like the male had the body of a young adult, golden yellow eyes, gray hair that was slightly darker than gray, and wore a black undershirt with a white shirt over the undershirt paired with a black jacket, black pants with black sneakers, and finger-less gloves. An interesting style choice. Not that Xipe cared much about what others wore.
Still, Aha seemed excited about this. Not that Xipe could blame them. Aha was attracted to all things unpredictable and amusing. Xipe could tell that this wouldn't be a passing interest for Aha, especially not with how excited Aha was. The Elation no doubt saw such an unpredictability as entertainment.
Xipe almost felt bad for the poor male who had captured Aha's attention just by being fascinating...
...
"-And then Qlipoth decided to bless the boy with their power! He can draw power from two paths, Xipe! It's absolutely amazing!"
Xipe nodded with their ever-calming smile on their face. "It is, Aha. I assume this means you're even more intrigued by the Stellaron vessel?"
Aha nodded vigorously. "Of course I am! Who wouldn't be fascinated by such an unpredictability? Ah, that reminds me! I witnessed him in action on one of the Xianzhou ships quite a while ago! He fought Phantylia, Xipe! Phantylia! And he won with the help of friends! It was so amazing! So incredible and amusing! Ah, it was so much fun to watch!"
Now Xipe was slightly intrigued. "He fought Phantylia with his companions? That sounds like it was a challenge for those mortals. And winning? That sounds almost impossible... But I know that you wouldn't lie about anything that you found fascinating to me. I'm intrigued..."
Aha seemed excited by Xipe's words as they kept blabbing how amazing an unpredictability like Caelus was. No doubt Aha was amazed by the mere existence of Caelus in the sprawling universe and the deeds that he had managed to accomplish on his path with his companions.
The Elation had said that Caelus was taken in by the Astral Express. Xipe remembered the Astral Express and Akivili, but then Aha decided to blow the Astral Express up for fun (making Xipe extremely concerned in the process because why would Aha think bombs were a good idea for some amusement-). Xipe was glad nonetheless that the Astral Express had been fixed and Caelus was in good hands.
Still, the fact that Caelus was getting drawn into such dangerous situations made Xipe incredibly concerned about Caelus. It sounded like Caelus got dragged into a lot of danger. Sure, he had the skills to fight such dangers, but it sounded like he was learning as he went and that was never a good thing to see regardless of what he was.
Xipe didn't realize that they were frowning until they felt Aha poking each of their faces. Xipe turned their main face towards Aha just in time for Aha to make miniature fireworks explode above their palms. Xipe chuckled at the sight and Aha laughed, clearly glad that they had managed to stop Xipe from frowning.
Still, that didn't stop Aha from asking, "So, what sort of thoughts were making you frown? It's so unlike you to do so, Xipe! You know that frowning isn't good for you! Keep smiling! It's a much better look on you!"
Xipe hummed, smile returning to their face. "I was thinking about the Stellaron vessel. Caelus seems to get in a lot of danger. One could even say that he's a magnet for danger. It's slightly concerning to think about such things. That amount of dangerous situations he's experienced can't be good for his mental state..."
Aha tilted their head, clearly thinking of Xipe's words before Aha seemed to get what The Harmony was trying to get across. "Ah, I see now. You're concerned about Caelus because of how much dangerous situations he's managed to find himself in. You're so caring, Xipe! No wonder you're The Harmony!"
Those words made Xipe blink calmly at Aha, no doubt trying to figure out what Aha was thinking. Aha just kept talking about how fascinating Caelus was and how magnanimous Xipe was though. How much praise was Aha going to give both them and Caelus...? It was weird, but in a good way (dubious too).
Still, Xipe was going to think of a way to sequester Caelus away from all that stress.
...
When Caelus arrived on Penacony, Xipe decided to examine Caelus for themself because this was a fine opportunity to do so. Besides, they wanted to see for themself what sort of person Caelus was without Aha telling them everything. This would help Xipe with determining who Caelus was as a person outside of looks.
Caelus looked like how Aha described him in terms of looks, but now Xipe was watching him run around Penacony with his newest friend and watched with a smile as Caelus had fun with a small smile on his face. Aha was right beside Xipe and poking their main face as if to ask The Harmony if they were seeing what The Elation was seeing.
The incessant amount of poking might have annoyed anyone else, but Xipe was close with Aha and could tell that The Elation was just getting out their excited energy. They could practically feel Aha vibrating with excitement at the fact that Xipe was seeing The Elation's entertainment now. So, Xipe merely smiled as they watched Caelus with Aha beside them.
Aha was, of course, excited that Xipe was finally seeing the mortal that held The Elation's attention. Xipe was smiling at the sight of him despite Aha's poking! That could only mean that The Harmony was just as entranced by Caelus as Aha was! That was amazing! Incredible! It meant good things that Xipe was entranced by Caelus!
Watching Caelus running around Penacony having fun was exactly what The Elation wanted The Harmony to see! It was a good sign indeed that Caelus was smiling, for it could only mean that Caelus was actually enjoying everything he was a part of to the fullest on Penacony! That was good! Extremely good!
It was so much fun watching Caelus run around with his newest friend and enjoying the sights of Penacony! Really, seeing Caelus smile like that was a breath of fresh air to Aha! It was a good sign that he was smiling alongside a new friend! He wouldn't have to suffer anymore frown lines!
That happiness proved not to last long for Caelus though as an entity killed his newest friend and caused Caelus to feel grieved by what happened. That tugged at Xipe's heartstrings while it made Aha frown because Caelus had looked so much better when he was smiling. It didn't help that he was presented with another victim of the entity and was reasonably horrified by the sight. It probably (or most definitely) wasn't doing wonders for Caelus' current mental state after he just lost his newest friend.
Xipe and Aha continued to watch Caelus as he went around solving the problems on Penacony. They watched as Caelus unraveled the golden dream with help because a Halovian was attempting to revive The Order. That was definitely concerning to Xipe and Aha was just amused that the Halovian attempting the revival was even attempting it in the first place. Xipe sighed for a minute when they realized that Aha wasn't taking things seriously. It wasn't really a surprise though. Xipe knew how Aha was.
That didn't mean that Xipe wasn't annoyed when one of the Masked Fools pulled the classic bomb trick and made Caelus panic. Aha seemed to be delighted by what their follower had done, but they didn't stay delighted because Xipe was giving the Masked Fool a blank stare. And that was terrifying considering that Xipe was The Harmony and that blank look might as well have been a glare. They could see where Xipe was coming from with that look though. Caelus was already stressed enough and this was probably piling on more stress.
Aha was a little bit surprised when they watched Xipe hypnotize Caelus (and watched Caelus attempt to fight against the hypnosis) after Caelus was out of the Dreampool and laying on a couch. No doubt Xipe had been thinking of doing that for a while.
Xipe stroked Caelus' hair once he was out. "I just want to keep you safe, my light... Won't you let me help you...?"
Aha could feel something in them stir at the sight. They wanted Caelus awake so they could watch him continue to be amazing and unpredictable, but Xipe had already put him to sleep because of their selfish/selfless desires to soothe their soul. But perhaps... If Aha could watch Caelus in the dream Xipe had put them in... That was definitely an idea!
Aha couldn't wait to have fun with Caelus in that dream!
...
Caelus wasn't sure how to feel about the situation he was in.
After he had decided to relax on the couch in his room after being exhausted by everything that he had experienced in that dreamscape, Caelus had been surprised when The Harmony had shown up and proceeded to put him to sleep using the halo of light that surrounded their head to hypnotize him.
Caelus had tried to escape the dream at first with Xipe showing up and patiently corralling him in one spot to stop him from attempting to escape, soothing him and making him lose every ounce of fight in his body. It felt nice, but his mind would rebel against it because Caelus hadn't come into this dream willingly.
Caelus then tried to kill himself in the dreams to wake himself up, but every single time he got close to doing so, Caelus would hear a voice saying that he was taking the easy way out by ending his own life. That wouldn't have deterred him if the voice hadn't followed by telling him that he might actually just kill himself. That had made Caelus so unnerved that he just... didn't do it. Because what if what he was trying actually did kill him...?
Caelus hung out by the shore of the beach in the dream more often than not after a while, too afraid to try killing himself because of the several taunts from the unfamiliar voice and too annoyed to risk another escape because Xipe somehow always noticed him before he could escape and always pulled him away from doing so. It was enough to drive Caelus mad.
What drove Caelus even more mad was that he was taunted of visions of the Astral Express crew in this dream with him before he remembered that he was trapped in the dream Xipe had put him in and the illusion shattered, leaving him alone with his thoughts and leaving a broken heart each and every time.
Xipe was always there after each illusion, comforting him and whispering reassurances. Caelus wanted to fight them, and he did, but after seeing so many illusions, Caelus had grown to accept the comfort Xipe offered him more and more. Caelus started to lose his fight and just let Xipe comfort him because it always seemed to hurt more and more every single time.
That didn't mean that Caelus was unaware of who was creating the illusions though. He heard their laughter every single time he shattered the illusion. The laughter of The Elation. It made Caelus angry in a way that made him withdraw into himself. Perhaps this was just some twisted form of entertainment to The Elation... It made Caelus sick to think about that though.
Just like any other time, Caelus was sitting on the shore of the beach in the dream. He sat with his knees to his chest and his head against his knees though. Caelus didn't want to look up and see another illusion. He didn't know if he could handle seeing another illusion...
Caelus didn't look up when he felt a hand nudging his shoulder, curling in on himself instead to save himself the suffering he would undoubtedly face if it turned out to be an illusion. Caelus heard the sand shift though and felt the presence of The Harmony next to him.
"Caelus? Lux mea, look at me please."
Caelus only decided to look up when Xipe didn't immediately leave. Xipe smiled at him calmly as they stroked his hair. The sight should've stirred hatred, but Caelus was too tired to fight against The Harmony. So, he didn't protest when Xipe enfolded him in their arms. "I know... Aha plays such cruel mind games..."
The mere thought of what Aha had done made Caelus tear up. Xipe soothed him as they kissed his forehead and murmured words of comfort. Caelus then felt another presence nearby that he didn't want to acknowledge because it was undoubtedly The Elation. Perhaps if Caelus ignored them this time...
... and that wouldn't happen because Aha decided to lay on him like they were a large, humanoid house cat. Caelus could hear Xipe snorting at Aha's action but couldn't find it in himself to consider the action too amusing because of what Caelus had been put through.
Aha let out an exaggerated sigh. "Gaudium meum... Pay attention to me... Give me your attention... Please? Pretty please?"
... Caelus wasn't sure what to think about what Aha was doing. Was The Elation really begging for Caelus to give them attention...? Why were they even doing so...? Hadn't they been playing mind games with Caelus trying to get him to crack...? Caelus was so lost and wasn't sure what to think about what was happening.
Aha had started tugging on Caelus' jacket to get him to pay attention to them. Caelus only looked at Xipe with a look of "what am I supposed to do" and only received a shrug in return. Helpful, truly (it really wasn't, Caelus was about to go nuts trying to figure out what Aha wanted).
Caelus lasted a few minutes before he turned to Aha to chew them out for continuously tugging on his jacket. He had just opened his mouth when Aha started kissing his face. Caelus made a startled noise when Aha peppered his face with kisses before he tried to squirm away from the constant affection. Caelus forgot that he was in Xipe's arms though and Xipe's arms were still firmly wrapped around him. Which meant that Caelus wasn't going to be escaping the kisses being peppered all over his face.
Xipe left a small kiss on the crook of his neck, making Caelus stiffen up a little bit due to surprise and Aha left a kiss that lingered on his cheek. Caelus made a flustered noise before he turned away from the two of them as Aha went back to acting like a spoiled house cat that was lounging all over Caelus while Xipe continued to hold Caelus in their arms.
The two Aeons had left their marks after all... And they were satisfied with that...