Daevas -I- ✔️

Chapter 5: Curiosity

Ari observed Cyrus in silence as he gathered his hair into a low ponytail and stirred the pot with a quiet intensity. He did not know what the contents were inside of it, but it made Ari curious just what it was. Stew, broth, perhaps? Ari dismissed the ideas; there was no discernible smell to offer a clue. Intrigued, he rose from his chair, intending to get a closer look, but stopped as Cyrus turned around.

Cyrus narrowed his eyes at him before scoffing, "Are you not so tired anymore?" Cyrus redirected his attention to the hearth, leaving Ari to his thoughts.

"I am not," Ari answered. He was tired, but he was not willing to admit that to him. Cyrus did nothing but look down on him.

"Your humans are fast asleep and so should you."

Ari pursed his lips in response to Cyrus's comment.

"You chose wrong." Cyrus stopped stirring the pot and turned to face him. "You chose wrong. You should not have come."

"Why? Why do you say that? If we are the same why is that you despise me?"

Cyrus looked at him, his gaze unyielding. "It is because you are human. You are no demon, no matter what blood flows through your veins." Ari heard the disdain in Cyrus's voice as he turned away, causing Ari's eyes to lower. However, Cyrus continued, the harshness of his words lingering in the air. "You will never be accepted as one of us. Never."

"They had taken me in," Ari said in his defense, "and cared for me."

"Right."

"I was abandoned."

"As we all were."

Ari's eyes widened but Cyrus paid him no mind. Cyrus dipped his finger into the pot, seemingly unfazed by the heat. He took the pot away from the hearth and set it onto the tabletop away from Ari.

"Our kind tends to leave their young to fend for themselves at a certain age..." Cyrus trailed off as he went and fetched a bowl from a cabinet. He returned and poured some black liquid into it, causing Ari to furrow his brows. "Do not feel so special."

Cyrus took a deep breath before grabbing the bowl and headed into the small hallway. "Do not follow me," he warned.

Ari, ignoring the command, trailed behind him into the dimly lit room. Inside, he saw Auovin sprawled over the bed, his hair neatly combed back, and his eyes tightly shut.

"Auovin... " Cyrus murmured as he sat the bowl on the nightstand and pressed his hand on his side. "Wake up."

Ari walked a little closer as soon as he saw Auovin's eyes open and a smile splay across his face. It warmed his heart for a moment. Auovin grabbed Cyrus' arm and brought him down into a kiss. The first one was small, but by the second time, Ari had turned around and had half a mind to turn back out the door.

"Shall I taste you again?" he heard Auovin say, his voice thick with sleep. Ari's face became hot, and his hands balled into small fists, an unexpected surge of discomfort and embarrassment sweeping over him.

Cyrus moved away from him, unsmiling. Auovin took Cyrus' chin in hand and grinned.

"Or had I taken too much from you? You look tired, pet." Auovin kissed Cyrus's cheek which made Cyrus lower his eyes.

"Because of my worry over your reckless actions," Cyrus confessed, turning his head away from Auovin. "Is your life so meaningless now because of that human thing?"

"Pet, do not dismiss him like that. He is quite invaluable. You know that. I know that." Auovin spoke with a tone that carried a mixture of amusement and reassurance.