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The second their weapons sparked together, dust circling them and hiding them from the rest of the people, she knew it: it was her Thrain. The man she met so long ago, now carrying a new name and a mission.
He knew it was her, too. Yet, the fight resumed, equal in strenght, just like way back then.
And for some reason, she refused to allow the others know. It was a mutual decision, really, agreed upon with a single look they shared during the last hit of the swords. She couldn't exactly see his face underneath the mask, but she knew him. So she believed, at least. Trusting her gut, she let Il Capitano - what a name it was - go, telling her people everything's fine for now. They had more important things to worry about, she'd find someone to deal with Capitano. It was easy to say she didn't know him and everyone believed her. Why would they question the great Pyro Archon? She never lied to her people. This wasn't a lie either. Just a little hidden truth if anything. Admitting that she knew the enemy closely could cause panic in the nation and it was the last thing Natlan needed. The land needed people as brave and happy as possible, even if it took a little lie.
And when the land slept, Mavuika was awake. She brushed back the fiery red hair, fixed her earrings and put one more layer of peachy lipstick on her lips. The Archon being up in the middle of the night was nothing new. She often cruised around the vast landscape with her bike, scared off lost bandits and watched the dragons perk up as the sun rose up for the new day. Sometimes she met a lone traveler, shared stories with them and welcomed them to natlan, the travelers none wiser they had met the leader herself.
The zipped up her suit, brushed off the last of the dust and took in a deep breath. If her gut was right, Capitano would be waiting in the specific place, not too far from Tepeacac rise, the river hidden underneath the mainland. But if she was wrong.. Well, she'd get to enjoy the scenery. It was better than nothing.
Mavuika checked herself from the tall mirror one more time. She really looked almost the same as back then. Same smile, same eyes, same hair. Different clothes, much preferred in the current time. Jewelry, loud enough to show she was a person of great taste.
Would a darker shade of lipstick look better?
Well, it was too late now. She was already heading out of the door to the blue midnight, keeping the flames lighting up the Stadium low to allow the people to sleep well. Not many people liked sleeping with the light shining right in their eyes.
And what a lovely night it was. Gentle wind, bright moon, birds of the night screeching outside the Stadium's walls. No signs of Abyss. Mavuika hoped it would last, even if just for one night. She took her time walking through the wooden bridges, greeting passing animals with a smile. One more deep breath in, she could do this. She had to do this.
Mavuika looked up to the sky once she reached the outskirts of the Stadium. Even stars were brighter than usual. She crossed her arms, tapping her fingers against her skin. Her eyes brushed through the area, studying every bush and hidden crack, waiting. She held her breath. The birds still sang.
It was a quick command that she summoned her bike and helmet out of pure flames. She put the helmet on, corrected the position and jumped on the saddle.
"Let's go, girl", Mavuika said to her bike. She laughed at her own words, patting the dark metal before moving her hands on the handle. Boots on the pegs, lean forwards, check the area one more time. Then she started the ride.
The scenery flew past her fast. The loud tremble of the engine hid underneath every sound of the fields. She jumped over familiar rocks, drifted to the side to avoid being crushed underneath large saurian and rode up the mountains. The moon stayed still in her view, as if cheering her on on the journey to a hidden little spot. She hadn't been there in years. Many, many, way too many years. Did she even really remember the way anymore?
Of course she did.
As the area approached, Mavuika slowed down her bike. Giant trees barely hid the little valley from view. At the edge of the mountain, she halted, putting her right foot down to stay balanced on the bike. She stared down at the river. The water flowed as quietly as always, green little saurians slept further away from the water while the adults stared back at her. She ignored them. The ignored the butterflies and birds and even a little squirrel daring to come sniff the bike. It ran away the second she fixed her balance and leaned forwards.
This was a mistake. It was dumb to think someone she met so long ago would still care about their scared secret. At least the view was lovely.
Just when she was about to turn around and leave, she saw it - behind a large bush, right next to a collapsed pile of rocks, a light flickered. It was slow, barely noticeable, meant to take the attention of just one person.
Mavuika stepped off her bike calmly and took off the helmet. The air felt colder now. She left the helmet resting on the bike's saddle. She stepped on the edge. Then she jumped.
It was a familiar way down; left foot there, right there, kick down from there and avoid the slippery spot there. She kept her heels higher up from the ground when she found the spot to slide down, carefully landing next to the river followed by a giant pile of dust and few small rocks following in her steps. She waved the air and left the cloud, brushing off the remaining dust off her bodysuit. Black leather showed every single drop of dirt far too easily. White wasn't that much better though, she had to admit it.
The flickering had stopped. Whoever was inside either feared for an intruder, or hoped for the best. Mavuika approached the hidden cave with slow, but loud steps. For a moment, the loudest sound in the ravine was her heels hitting the rocky ground.
She heard her pulse speeding up. With tightness in her chest, she moved the leaves away from the entrance, greeting the darkness with a sharp breath in.
A torch light up the old cave. Most of the dust had been brushed off from the ancient walls decorated with colourful paintings of bright mornings and loud nights. Twisty vines surrounded little cracks on the stone, keeping the cave from collapsing as time goes on. At the back of the cave stood two chairs and a table made of stone. A bad, ugly, wobbly table, but that didn't matter. Picnic basket on the floor. Red pillows on the chairs. On the left side, balancing on another rock, was a vase filled with flowers with petals like raging flames.
And in the corner stood a tall man dressed in a fur cape and a helmet that covered his entire face. He only moved when he accepted that Mavuika was, in fact, staring right at him.
"I thought you wouldn't come", she said, now with her arms crossed.
"I feared the same about you", he answered with a low tone.
For over ten seconds, they did nothing but stared at each other. Then Capitano moved his hand towards the chairs.
"Sit down, Mavuika."
And so she did. The pillow made the chair surprisingly comfortable. To Capitano's confusion, she couldn't help but laugh.
"What's so funny?"
"This. Me. You. This cave. How we, after so many years, still hide the fact that we know each other. It's like no time has passed."
"But time has passed. I believed for you to be dead."
Mavuika took in a deep breath to erase the smile on her face. He was right. It was unfair to laugh about the weird situation they were in. Capitano sat on the other chair, back straight, looking right at her. Or she believed so. He kept the helmet on.
"You can remove your helmet", she said. He shook his head.
"I'd rather not let you see me like this."
"Like what?"
"Like a man cursed by immortality."
She studied how he shifted his weight uncomfortably on the chair. It was too small for him.
"Well", she hummed, crossing her legs, "I won't ask."
He wanted to ask, though. She felt his gaze on her, following her the same as she did to him. Each awkward tap on the table, brushing hair back behind her ears, trying so desparately to meer his eyes just once more.
"I did die", she broke the silence. Finally, their eyes met. Her face warmed up and she smiled.
"And I was reborn. It is me, the same woman you met all those years back. I remember it all. All our secret meetings."
So do I, he probably thought.
"In this exact same cave", she continued, letting her eyes wander around the familiar walls.
"Though, it didn't have these vines back then. And some of the paintings have scratched off. Shame, I really loved the one where a kid was playing with a saurian."
He listened patiently as she spoke. Each little story followed a laugh, joke or a question he wouldn't answer. She relaxed more with each passing minute. Capitano put the picnic basket on the table and offered her a pastry filled with spicy cream and burnt corners. Mavuika, of course, took it. They shared a small bottle of wine and couple more pastries. Time flew. It would be morning far too soon.
But not yet.
They had moved to sit on the floor. For a cave, it was warm, though far from comfortable. The pillows stolen from the chairs helped, though. Mavuika leaned against Capitano's arm, carefully brushing through his black hair, braiding a piece there and there. His cape laid on the abandoned chair, protecting the empty bottle. He sighed deeply. Mavuika looked up from her hands, now making another braid, and put her chin on his shoulder.
"What's bothering you?" she asked.
"I don't get bothered by things", he answered. She hummed, disatisfied by the answer. She moved in front of him, lifting herself from the ground just enough to sit on his lap. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder for support.
"You're the same as you always were. I'll ask one more time: what's bothering you?"
Capitano stayed quiet. Far too quiet for her liking. She gathered a bundle of his hair and pulled it in front of her, brushing through it and braiding it.
"How many times are you going to do that?" he asked after following her new hobby long enough.
"Until morning", she said proudly, as a matter of fact, like anyone would know the answer.
"I'll be out of hair by then."
"Then I'll just brush it all out and braid it again."
"Won't you get bored?"
"I'd never get bored of you. Especially now. I thought I'd never meet you or anyone like you ever again. Yet here you are. And you haven't changed at all."
Capitano looked to the side. Of course he had changed. Eternity's too long of a time to fight back any change.
"I have changed", he said. She slowed down the braiding, eyes half closed, waiting.
"I'm not the same man I used to be", he continued, but refused to say a word more. She waited. She waited a little longer. She braided his hair twice.
"Show me", Mavuika said.
"Show you what?"
"Your face. Then I'll be honest and say if you have changed."
"Mavuika. I carry the curse of immortality. My body has long rotten to be something no human should have to see."
She put her hand on his cheek. He leaned against it.
"Good thing I'm an Archon, then."
An Archon of Natlan was nothing but a human. He could have used it against her words, refused to show his face to her. In fact, he could have just left. They owed each other nothing, really. Both had lost each other already, mourned and moved on with life, as there was nothing else either could have done. The meeting was pure luck. War was no destiny and they weren't the great chosen ones of the world.
But once, they had chosen each other. Back when Capitano was nothing but a stranger from Khaenri'ah, and she was just a person, too. The meetings started as an accident. Then they were on purpose. She never said a word to anyone. Honestly, Mavuika never knew why she refused to tell it even to her family. Strangers weren't liked in Natlan, and he was the strangest of them all. Maybe she protected him. Or perhaps herself.
Whatever it was, it became what they were: a couple no-one knew about and who adored each other dearly. Each smile they shared was more precious than before.
And right before he could ask her to share her life with him until the end, she disappeared.
He took in a deep breath. Then another. Her hand stayed on his cheek until he moved her hand away. Slowly, he pulled off his helmet. Black hair fell over his face.
Mavuika had expected him to look a little off. Somewhat dead maybe, with sunken eyes and sharp cheekbones, a missing nose. Another expection was him looking as he always did, with skin she liked to compare to porcelain from Fontaine and the most loving icy eyes she'd ever seen.
What greeted him was a face with pure black skin, glowing blue veins - or cracks? - pulsing on it. His eyes were set back deep, with the only colour in them being the barely familiar blue. If it weren't for the light, she wouldn't have been able to see his nose. His mouth opened slowly, creating another crack on the skin.
She reached to touch it. He was ice cold, hard to touch.
Capitano took in a deep breath. He knew it. She hated how he looked. He was far from what she remembered. He was ready to put the helmet back on when she took a hold of his wrist.
"Keep it off", she said.
"I told you it was a dreadful sight."
"You're far from dreadful. Different, but still you. The man I fell in love with."
His hands trembled. She smiled at him, letting go of his wrist. She opened her arms, pulling him into a hug. He pressed his face against her shoulder, wrapping his arms around her.
It had been so long since he had felt vulnerable. Soft. Cared and loved for. He had almost forgotten how much he missed her.
Of course, he didn't cry. He had lost the ability ages ago, not long after he lost Mavuika. Most people he worked with found it impressive. As time went on, he prided himself on the lack of feelings, as well. Was it a mistake to meet her again? Maybe. He had a mission, after all.
But for one night, that mission could wait. Tomorrow they would be back to being strangers. Enemies, perhaps. A pair that only worked together because they had to. They had different goals, after all. It came clear during the conversations.
He used to miss her laugh after she disappeared. He still did, despite having heard it all night over and over again. Sparkling like sun itself, that sound, it always kept him going even when it only carried itself in his memories.
"I almost forgot how gentle you are", Capitano finally said to break the silence. She, once again, laughed.
"Really, that's what you have to say?"
"Were you expecting something else?"
Laugher.
The sun was dangerously close to rising. They left the cave in a hurry, letting the nature hide it from the overly curious travelers. Outside, Mavuika fixed Capitano's cape while he put the helmet back on.
"Well", he started, straightening his back, "it was nice to see you again."
"Only nice?" she teased, giving a weightless punch on his arm.
"Very nice, in fact."
They stood in silence, watching the slowly brightening sky.
"So, what are you going to do after the war?" Mavuika asked, to Capitano's surprise. He hummed.
"I haven't planned that far. Years back I would have asked for your hand in marriage", he answered after letting her wait for far too long. She turned to him.
"Really?"
"Really."
"Are you going to ask?"
"I might. If you don't disappear."
"You know I might. What then?"
"Then I'll just have to find you again."