Rethais smiled to themselves as they carried Lysar up to the main bedroom. While the main bedroom had been unused for years, because it was simply too large. Rethais had only had a poten-partner for about two years now and Lysar had only moved in properly in the last year or so, but even then, the bed in the main bedroom was probably too big, at 6m across. Still, at least Rethais could use it now.
Lysar was also rather happy and bubbly currently. They and Rethais had probably had one too many meads, and they’d had a lovely evening overall. Rethais had cooked dinner, they had watched TV together and Lysar had surprised Rethais with a cake. After stuffing their faces, Rethais wanted to treat Lysar to something even sweeter, and that was why they were now carrying Lysar upstairs.
However, oddly, Rethais didn’t turn the lights on. This confused Lysar, because it was really dark in the bedroom otherwise. Not that Lysar had a chance to comment or complain, because Rethais handily threw Lysar onto the bed. Lysar considered that quite a feat, because Lysar was a pretty heavy person. Then again, Rethais was literally Rethan perfection, doubly so since their sibling was no longer around.
Before Lysar could say anything though, they found themselves somewhat pinned down.
“You are feisty today!” Lysar teased. “I like it when you are feisty!”
Rethais licked Lysar’s cheek, but didn’t answer at first. Instead, they started taking off Lysar’s armour, throwing it hastily to one side. Once Lysar was naked (as naked as a Rethan could be), Rethais started removing their own armour, but once they got to their stomach wrap, Rethais hesitated.
“I forgot to buy prophylactics again…”
“Oh. We ran out?”
Rethais sighed and nodded. “I meant to buy some the other day when I went to the midnight market and unfortunately ran into my horrendous egg-layer.”
“You… you ran into Revan?” Lysar blinked.
Another sigh. Rethais had clearly lost all steam. They climbed off Lysar and laid by their side. “They tracked me down, wanting to know why I ‘allowed’ Relkir to be the Bearer. They could not understand that I did not allow that, I simply allowed Relkir and myself to be normal bloody Rethans capable of living normal lives and of falling in love. They also could not understand why I hate their guts and do not forgive them.”
“I mean… Revan did everything in their power to be the biggest of assholes. They insulted me, to my face.”
“I am-”
“Do not apologise for that. Do not ever apologise for your asshole of a mother’s actions.”
“Fair…” Rethais sighed some more. After a moment though, they shook their head. “Oh! I forgot! I wanted to show you something!”
Rethais rolled back on top of Lysar and held out their hand. There was a silly smile on their face. After closing their eyes and concentrating, they snapped their fingers. All of a sudden, a small mote of light appeared. It fizzled out though. Rethais tried again, and this time round, the mote remained, steady and stable. It wasn’t particularly bright, but it was bright enough to allow Lysar to see the smirk on Rethais’s face.
“Oh! So you are a real Rethianos after all!” Lysar giggled. This caused Rethais to blink and lose all concentration. Immediately, the mote vanished and the light faded.
“That… that was mean…” Rethais grunted.
“But… everyone thought you did not have the Family of Dawn trait!”
“Well, I do. I have always had it. I just did not know how to concentrate and summon the motes correctly.”
Lysar inspected Rethais some what. “But… since when could you do this? You are in your fifties and have not once shown any hint of the Family of Dawn trait.”
“I worked out how to do it not long after the Sudden Darkness. I just… had no real desire to share with anyone, especially since I routinely mess it up. I did not want to tell the universe that I have the Family of Dawn trait, then, when asked for proof, fail on the first attempt!”
Rethais’s shoulders dropped. They were clearly upset with themselves, and became even more upset when they tried to summon new light motes and it took three different attempts to get even one to stick around. But Lysar understood that frustration. They reached up and put their hands on Rethais’s cheeks.
“You do not need to tell anyone. You did not even need to tell me.”
“I wanted to tell someone. But… I am so scared of messing up, I am so tired of constantly having to prove myself…” Rethais trailed off. “Previous High Generals did not have to do this. You do not have to constantly prove yourself. I may have ended the Bloodline Traditions, I may have left them behind, but they have not left me. I am a broken person.”
“You have broken parts, but you work tirelessly to be better!” Lysar wrapped their arms around Rethais. “But just because you are broken, that does not mean you are bad! We are not like a broken window. We can be fixed and we can better ourselves. And sometimes, our repaired selves come out better than our pre-broken selves. Rethais, please, stop hating yourself. You are a good person. A messed up person, a person haunted by your past and your own flesh and blood, but a good person none the less.”
Rethais blinked a few times, then pressed themselves against Lysar, hugging them tightly, allowing themselves to cry.
“I… I needed to hear that…” Rethais eventually muttered.
“I noticed.”
“Can we just… can we just lie here and hold each other? I… I wanted to do… things… but I hurt too much emotionally right now.”
Lysar smiled and stroked Rethais across the cheek. “Of course, my darling. Remember, Rethais, you are a good person and I love you.”
Rethais rubbed their eyes, then smiled back. “And you are a good person and I love you too, Lysar…”