Calis stared at Manny in disbelief. His eyes moved to Lee Seng who had turned and was now focused on the conversation. Calis looked at Lee Seng from the other tree branch, cheeks growing red as the sunkissed Merman began to stutter.
"Does that mean… you know about…" Calis couldn't even say it all without feeling embarrassed. Lee Seng kept a blank face and looked at Manny.
"I know a lot of things. What things are you referring to?" Lee Seng feigned ignorance. He dropped to the ground, barely making noise. Without his gravity powers, he still was graceful. Calis gulped, almost coughing and losing his balance on the branch. He quickly balanced himself while Manny covered a chuckle. "I assume they want me back for dinner?"
"Dinner can wait if you don't got it all out, yet." Manny responded. "Let your heart cry out whatever it wants~" Manny pushed his head into Lee Seng's chest, turning his head left and right. Lee Seng pushed Manny back and stepped away from his annoying friend.
"I'll be fine. Let's go." Lee Seng stared back the way they came with Manny in tow.
"W-wait for me!" Calis shouted flustered. He dropped to the forest floor and followed after. Calis rushed over, unsure if he should make contact with Lee Seng or not. "W-what do you know? I-I hope you don't know much…"
"Lemme tell you one thing about Keng and I." Lee Seng started. "Keng and I can share whatever we want with each other once we rejoin souls. I kept an open door because I felt better with Keng knowing everything about me." He stopped in his place and turned to Calis. "But Keng kept things from me. Especially when they came to you. I know the general idea. You like Keng."
Calis's face went red. He turned away, unsure what to do. Lee Seng smiled and turned.
"You came to find him, right?" Lee Seng asked. "He's currently out of commission from saving us from death, so you'll have to wait for him to come back." Lee Seng started forward, leaving Calis and a confused Manny behind.
"W-what do you mean by he's outta commission?" Manny asked, running after Lee Seng. "What do you mean by that?" Lee Seng patted his chest and continued forward without a word. Manny turned and glanced at Calis. "Are you coming?"
"Huh? Yeah." Calis shook it off and jogged after the Biohuman and Fox Spirit.
The cabin was filled with hush talk and warmed food by the time the young men got back. Manny went through the front door first, stopping the quiet conversations and drawing the attention of the three Numbers. Akio cleared his throat as he watched the three young men filter in and take their shoes off.
"Come eat." Nikolai motioned from the table.
"Alright." Manny shuffled over and sat next to Nikolai, leaving an open spot next to him and Akali. Lee Seng moved and sat next to Manny, leaving Calis to take the spot next to Akali.
"Well," Akio cleared his throat. "Dig in." They quietly dug in. Lee Seng kept his eyes down, ignoring his brother's occasional glances. Akali kept to herself, eating her fill while also occasionally telling the others to eat more. Lee Seng quickly finished his food and stood up. He set his things in the sink and washed his hands.
"Where's the bathroom?" Lee Seng asked.
"It's on the other end." Nikolai answered, pointing Lee Seng in the right direction. Lee Seng nodded his thanks before leaving the room.
Lee Seng flicked the light on and shut the door, locking it. He turned the shower on and relieved himself before stripping his clothes off. He jumped in the shower and took his time washing the grime and sweat off himself. He pulled out some shampoo and conditioner from his Void Storage and carefully washed his hair before grabbing soap to clean his body.
Lee Seng washed himself off and scrubbed his face one last time before shutting the shower off and grabbing a towel to dry him. He glanced at the shower, noticing a shimmering rune.
'That's how they still have water.' Lee Seng stuck his hand through the Void Storage and pulled some clean clothes out. He slipped on a new pair of boxers, black shorts and a white, baggy tank top. He threw his dirty clothes in the Void Storage and stepped out.
Nikolai was reading some book while Akio, Akali, Calis and Manny weren't anywhere to be seen.
"Where's the others?" Lee Seng asked Nikolai.
"Getting an early rest." Nikolai answered. He looked up from his book and pointed to an open door off to Lee Seng's left. "You and Calis will be sleeping in there. There's many beds, so pick one and sleep. I assume you'll want to search for your friends in the morning?"
"Yeah." Lee Seng joined Nikolai, sitting across from him. "What're you reading?"
"Oh, this?" Nikolai raised the book. "Just some rune books. I haven't had time to see what other Rune Mages were up to while I was undercover. I'm getting myself acquainted with new Runes and discoveries."
"It didn't occur to me until afterwards that the water was working. You put a water rune on it?" Lee Seng asked.
"Oh that." Nikolai nodded, flipping the page. "The water dried up within a couple days of settling here, so I had to use runes." Lee Seng nodded and continued to dry his hair. "Manny talked about you a lot."
"Did he now?" Lee Seng raised an eyebrow.
"I think he's worried about you."
"What did he say?" Lee Seng turned and rested his head on the arm of the couch.
"He told me about how all of your new friends made you less antsy." Nikolai flipped the book page. "He said you were a loner and now you're different. You got a new friend, too. What was his name again? Keng? Manny said Keng helped you a lot."
"Yeah. You could say something like that." Lee Seng nodded.
"I was told your form was… interesting, but you look like a regular human besides the ears." Nikolai motioned.
"I didn't get to touch on that, hm?" Lee Seng looked at the ceiling fan. "I used to have nine tails. I had to work hard for them, but deep in the underground, I was whisked away by a Failed One experiment and taken to 'Mother.' There she summoned her 'Son' which ripped a Failed Experiment out of me and killed me. Keng came to me via our souls being intertwined and used all of his life force and our tails to revive me."
Lee Seng played with his tank top, pinching a piece of clothing on his chest. Nikolai's eyes studied his nephew, who grew sad recounting the traumatic experience. Lee Seng pushed himself up and swung his feet onto the floor.
"Keng resides in my soul now. We're back to square one. He's an egg and I'm just waiting for him to hatch, so we can start our journey over, again." Lee Seng finished.
"Your journey? It seems my nephew has seen a lot in the last two years." Nikolai closed the book and set it to the side. Lee Seng nodded, looking at his Uncle. "I've seen much in the time away, too. So much things I wish could've gone better… And sometimes I wish I could rewind it all and go back to simpler times…"
"When exactly?"
"Mmm… I always ask myself 'what if I didn't fake my death and stayed by Nicole's side?' Would she be okay? Would she be softer on you? Would you have grown up to be more loved? Things like that… but I don't know when. It's… hard to say when." Nikolai folded his hands together and stared at them. "I have to remind myself that sometimes doing the right thing means walking the path alone. I had to walk this path alone until Akali and Akio joined me, but you - Lee Seng - get to walk it with so many people. People who are willing to lay down their lives for you and each other. If that isn't true camaraderie, I don't know what is.
"Hold onto those friends. Hold onto Manny and the gentleman, Calis. Er, he's a Merman, so… gentle-merman?" Nikolai cracked a smile and the two laughed at his horrible joke. Nikolai looked at Lee Seng and couldn't help but continue to smile. "I know things are hard, but know that I will always support you even if I don't understand it. I know your siblings would do the same even if they're an ass about it." Lee Seng nodded and set the towel down. "Night has fallen. We should get some sleep." Nikolai stood up and stretched. He reached for his book while Lee Seng licked his lips. His mind stirred and he found himself calling for Nikolai.
"Uncle Niko." Lee Seng looked at Nikolai.
"Hm?" Nikolai raised his eyebrows.
"Am I really okay to walk the path I want?" Lee Seng asked. Nikolai turned and nodded.
"We all must walk our paths. Whatever path you've chosen, Lee Seng, whether its to find your friends and go back to that beautiful world or if it's to slay the Failed Ones… Whatever choice you make, it must come from no one else but you." Nikolai smiled and waved goodbye. "I'm going to sleep. Rest up! We got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
"Goodnight, Uncle." Lee Seng nodded. "I'll stay up for a bit longer."
"Don't be too loud. I'm sensitive to noises now."
"I won't." Lee Seng gave a small bow and watched Nikolai enter one of the bedrooms closest to the kitchen and living room. When he was finally alone, Lee Seng let out a sigh and nodded. "Let's meditate for a little."
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