Chapter 331 - Reclamation of the Returning (I) (2/2)

Aegin had shaken his head, ”No, I decided on what Runes to use a while ago. I just…it hasn't felt like the right time to carve them”.

Rima had raised an eyebrow at that, ”Moonshadow pumps those things out like a well-oiled machine. I don't think you need to wait for the right time”.

Aegin sighed, ”That's not…nevermind”.

”No, go on, I know it's important to you. Remember, we talked about sharing, didn't we?” asked Rima.

Aegin rolled his eyes, glancing at the young woman who flashed her fledgling fangs in amus.e.m.e.nt.

Yes, Aegin had turned her. She'd done the same for Tigin and Sevis. Rima had served her time at Blue Sands, passing over the reigns to another as soon as she could. When she was done, she'd brought Tigin back to Red Eyes for a visit with Sevis, and the three of them had just ended up in Aegin's cave not long after that.

They'd found, after years of being friends, that though the Tribes held a place in their hearts and always would, something else was out there. They'd asked Aegin about it, and he'd been just about as helpful as he usually was.

Unhelpfulness aside, Aegin had felt compelled to tell them about how he'd met Rassa. About how they travelled together. About the struggles he was sure Rassa had gone through, yet had never spoken of.

”Then…are you going to share your burden with anyone?” Rima had asked him.

Aegin had confessed that he'd never really thought about it.

”Then share it with us,” Sevis had said.

Aegin had been hesitant and about to protest when he'd seen the looks in their eyes. They were serious. They understood it too. The Tribesman were not like those in Eldovia. They understood that those who walked the Paths of Chaos had to pay a price. They understood more than any other peoples. And, as Aegin had learned, they were more accepting of it too.

Of course, Aegin hiding away in his cave with impromptu visits to other parts of the Western Continent when he was bored was not a life style they were accustomed to, seeing as they were grounded in their Tribes. Aegin could feel that if they were to become unsealed, they would have to break away from what they knew. He'd hinted as much, and the group had travelled south. But they'd returned three days before, still sealed.

”Rassa, when he spoke to me before I left, he was so sure. So unapologetic,” Aegin stated, ”So powerful…I ran from that. From becoming that”.

”You didn't run from becoming that,” Rima huffed, ”Don't be ridiculous. You're your own person, Aegin. Stop trying to fit into someone else's shadow when yours in just the right size and shape”.

Aegin smiled remembering Rima's words. She was always one to council him. To council all of them really. She'd always been good at it too. She'd said just the right thing for him to stop questioning himself.

He was ready now. Ready to go back and not feel the need to fit into the space he had left there. Ready to go back as his own man.