Archive of Our Own

“You need a goal. Something that gets you up and going in the morning. Something to strive for.”

The man who declared this to Aether was an Adventurer. It is what people called him, and it is what he called himself.

Adventuring to the darkened areas of the world and shedding light on them was his life. His something, his purpose. At a young adolescent age he left his small and unimportant village to adventure, years passing by in the blink of an eye.

When Aether studied the man he found someone with a well built physique, and despite his age he exuded youthfulness, even some innocence, with wisdom bountiful in his heart. Added on to him were two things. His sword and adventuring gear. Those were all the belongings Aether saw on the man. Not a lot, yet much was carried that he could not see in those two possessions.

The Adventurer spoke to Aether, sharing what he saw. Big shots who had grand purposes in life, fitted only for them as the weight was heavy. Unimportant bakers rising in the early hours of the morning to produce fresh goods daily. Although the baker does not compare to a king for example, they both share one thing in common. Having a purpose.

“What about you, kid? It’s a bit early, but do you have any idea what you want to be? Or, do you have any goals or dreams?”

If the man knew Aether’s age was more than ten fold his he would be left speechless.

“I have no idea what I want to be, and I don’t exactly have a goal or dream. Ever since the day my sister and I were… forced out of our home, we haven’t done much. Wandering aimlessly for years.”

Aether did not hate world traveling with Lumine. On the contrary, he loved it. It was fun and jolly, but it was not a nurturing experience, not with the way they went about it. Aether did not crave a goal or dream or purpose. Him and Lumine preferred to just live happily and carefree, maintaining it that way for as long as possible. One day however, Aether found himself yearning. Yearning for a reason. A reason to what, he did not know, but nonetheless his heart yearned for something.

“Do you think I can have a purpose?”

“How am I supposed to know? I will tell you this though. When you strive for a purpose, remember that it doesn’t have to be anything grand. It can be something extremely simple, like an endeavor you want to accomplish daily. It can be something so simple in fact, that if you were to tell your sister, she’d laugh right in your face. Why don’t you ask her? I’m sure she’ll be more help than I, a random stranger.”

He rose from his seat and walked away, leaving Aether to muse his final message.

“See ya. Adventure calls my name. I hope you find your ambition, kid.”

Aether stared at the back of the Adventurer growing distant, never having learned his name. His words ringed in Aether’s ears like a bell, louder and louder with the crackling of the city drowning out.

“Start with something small… Ah, the time!”

He darted his eyes towards the sky, sunset expanding over the horizon.

A mad Lumine awaited him.

Aether launched upwards and kicked the seat back, slamming it back in and sprinting to the location he and Lumine agreed to gather at.

“What took you so long? If you take this long again, I’m going to put a leash on you. That way I can yank on it from far away and remind you to come back.”

Lumine was seated on a bench. Her brows were furrowed, and her foot had been tapping on concrete. She was upset. She rose from the bench and stood in front of a panting Aether, huffing in air as he rested his hands on his knees.

“Sorry. I was… I lost track of time. I’m sorry.”

“You’re even panting like a dog. Come on, let’s—“

He fixed his posture, his face coming into view, a strange expression on him.

“You’re making a weird face. Like you’re thinking hard about something. What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Lumine neared him, her sisterly urge to care for her only brother showing. She rested her hand on his shoulder, gripping softly and tilting her head curiously, smiling a warm smile despite the worry on her face.

“I had a conversation that got me thinking. It’s no bid deal. Let’s forget about it and go do something fun together,” he said, lungs filled with air and no longer panting.

“Are you sure? You really look like you’re thinking hard. Did someone say something mean? Tell me who it was, and we can ‘talk’ to them together,” she exclaimed, a fist stuck in front of Aether’s chest.

“… Aha, where did you get that kind of humor? No one said anything mean.”

Aether covered the surface of Lumine’s hand that rested on his shoulder, a resolute smile bared on his lips.

“Thank you, Lumine. I’m happy to be with you.”

“What’s with the sudden mood change? Well, if you’re feeling better let’s go. And I’m also happy being with you.”

Lumine moved forwards, citizens walking or rushing past her, blurring her image from Aether’s sight. He stared at her for longer than he should, her smile making him forget about his mostly one sided conversation with the Adventurer from earlier.

“I can think about that stuff later.”

“What was that!? I can’t hear you!”

“Nothing! I’m coming!”

He sprinted towards her, bumping into people on the way.

“You even run like a dog when it’s towards me. Maybe I will put you on a leash.”

She made the wrong gesture, whirling an imaginary lasso above her head and throwing it on Aether.

“Your jokes are awfully rude today. Did something happen to you?” he sighed, going along with Lumine’s gag as he was roped towards her side.

“A certain brother of mine decided to leave for an extra hour.”

Both knew what happened to the other when they were separated for too long. It came at them like a hard blow to the stomach. Aether gave his up most best to calm himself when it first happened, when his body made him pace around in front of a shop, each pace drifting him towards Lumine’s general direction. The owner had enough of it, and when they came outside to curse at Aether, it took him all he had to not hurl insults at him.

He was dumbfounded at himself, aghast that he could think of such foul language, and how his face twisted into a scowl. He fled the scene, worried over himself and what was occurring to him. He had only taken a few steps before he came face to face with Lumine. She was on the other side of the small town they where in, but she sprinted as fast as she could across the town in minutes. She was just as distraught as him, but instead of sharing the same emotion as Aether, she had an unmistakable mark of fear.

They talked it out later that day, and her fear came from a sudden barrage of pessimism that assaulted her mind without warning. Aether couldn’t understand himself and couldn’t explain himself to Lumine. All they knew was that it was a problem they had to overcome. A handful of minutes used to be their time limit, but they managed to get it up to a handful of hours. But two was their comfort zone, and three was cutting it close for her. He could go a bit longer before giving in.

Still, his sister’s side was a place he loved to be at, and she felt the same way about her brother’s side.

They had grown attached to being next to each other.

“I know, I know. I really am sorry.”

“Don’t do it again, please.”

Aether understood he couldn’t go around anymore without informing Lumine.

“I won’t be late again, I promise.”

He swore not to let himself be distracted next time, and as they continued to walk together he trailed behind her. He watched her figure from behind, mind wandering.

“Those gray clouds have been there for two days now.”

“And we’re still stuck in the middle of nowhere.”

Experienced in traveling, exploring, adventuring, Aether and Lumine knew when mortal life was present in a world. Be it humans or some other life form that housed a mind, heart, and soul, they knew if mortals littered the world they were currently settled in and if civilization thrived.

In a world ripe with heavy vegetation, only fauna and critters roamed.

“Guess it’s just the two of us.”

“Tell me something new.”

“You know what I meant. Should we just forget about this one and go to another world?”

“We agreed to spend a minimum of one month in each world. You’re the one that came up with that rule, so don’t go back on your word, brother.”

“Fine, sister. But there’s way too much greenery here. It’s getting annoying.”

Aether swatted a giant leaf away from him, only for it to bounce back and hit him square in the face.

“Treat others how you want to be treated, Aether.”

Lumine leisurely maneuvered through heaps of bushes and trees, undisturbed as she advanced past it all.

“Yes, yes. Understood, Lumine. May I remind you the only ‘other’ around here is you? All these plants don’t count!”

He barreled through a final bush, skidding past the girl and swinging back to her side in one swoop.

“Ugh, we should get out of this damn forest. Thankfully this clearing can give me a break—“

Lightning flashed from the gray cover above, and thunder clapped directly above them.

With a sigh from Aether, and a laugh from Lumine, they maneuvered under thicker trees, the branches and leaves providing some protection until they found a cave to take refuge.

They sat on the ground opposite of each other, listening to the rain pelting the earth, thunder breaking far off in the distance or near them. Aether would have started up a conversation by that point, but the sound of the rain and thunder droned on.

“It’s raining pretty hard. It’s thundering a lot too.”

Lumine expected a response from Aether. Something along the lines of ‘Let’s go play in some puddles!’ overly ecstatic at something so childish. They were both childish to some degree, mostly in the jokes they made, but he toned down that side of his by a lot. She was glad he went back to it that day, but it hadn’t been replaced by anything new, so it made her wonder why he suppressed it. She noticed that it began the day after he returned late.

“It sure is… I have a question for you.”

Aether peeled away from the mouth of the cave, moving his gaze from the rain onto Lumine.

“What is it?”

“Do you have a goal or dream you want to accomplish? Maybe something you want to be?” he asked with seriousness, his earlier prankster gone.

“This is out of nowhere.”

“Well, it’s on rainy days like these that I let my mind wander. So, do you have anything like that?”

“Hmm, do I? What do you think?” she mocked, waving a finger in the air, leaning back on the makeshift pillow she made earlier and leaving Aether to do her work.

“Let me think about it.”

Aether rested his chin on his palm and stared at the ground, taking an honest effort to ponder.

He struggled to recall a time when Lumine was dead set on anything during their childhood. She never spoke to him about future aspirations, and neither did he to her. Whatever time they spent together was spent playing, as children did.

He moved forwards to their adolescent years, when responsibility came into their life. Not a lot, but enough that it made them grow some. Even in those years, when hopes and dreams began to stir in the hearts of young adults, Aether’s and Lumine’s hearts stayed ever still. He remembered one night during those years, when he laid in bed and thought to himself that speaking to Lumine about profound things would be interesting. His thought was interrupted by said girl charging into his room at an absurd hour to complain about the cold, diving into his bed and stealing his blanket.

‘Hey! I’ll freeze over here!’

‘Shh! Lower your voice, don’t you realize what time it is? Now don’t throw a fit and go back to sleep.’

‘Fine, whatever.’

“Hahaha…”

“What’s so funny? I thought you were thinking hard over there.”

“I just remembered something. I’ll go back to thinking now.”

With a deep and gentle breath, he closed his eyes and thought some more, moving past their adolescence and into what would have been their adult years. Those adult years never came, as their home world was taken from them by the hands of time.

Aether winced at the memory. Thinking of what-ifs is not something he liked to do. Pressing forwards, he recounted what was possible from the day they became world travelers, to where they were seated then, near the exit of a cave as a cold and harsh wind blew.

Nothing. Not a single day in their extended lives had he and Lumine grasped a goal, dream, ambition, aspiration, and shared it with the other.

His hand dropped down, and his head fell back, and with a defeated hum he relented.

“Nope. You don’t have anything like that.”

“Hearing you say it so matter of factly hurts, but it’s true.”

Lumine snapped her fingers to grab Aether’s attention, and he dragged his head forward, looking at her as she used her two index fingers to nudge the edges of her lips upwards.

“Listen, Aether. I’m assuming you’ve been thinking about having some silly little goal for awhile now. Am I right?”

“You’re right.”

“Let me ask you this. Do you think having… whatever it is you want to call it, will make you more happy and satisfied than you are now?”

“I… don’t think it will.”

“Mhm, I thought so. For me, traveling with you from world to world, joking around and seeing whatever there is to see, having fun every day, it all leaves me happy, satisfied, and fulfilled.”

Lumine drew her fingers away, the unnatural smile giving away into a genuine one.

“We don’t need a purpose, Aether. Sure, it may be nice to have, but look at us. We’ve been fine our whole lives without one, and there’s nothing wrong in living a carefree life. Well, at least for us. We don’t exactly have responsibilities nowadays. So, let’s just enjoy ourselves to the fullest. We’re happy and together, aren’t we? Isn’t that what really matters?”

Aether broke his sight away from her, watching rain drops start to drizzle in, almost reaching them.

“Now, this rain doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, so I’ll be taking a nap. Join me if you want,” she said and laid down on the ground, complaining about the uncomfortableness.

“You’re right. I am happy,” he said, not fully convinced by her words.

It would be nice to have something, he thought, when he already had something, someone.

“The thing I was laughing about, it was when you would barge into my room during winter time. Do you remember?”

“Can’t say I do.”

“Really? But you did that for the entire season.”

A specific memory played in his mind, of a night when he got peeved by Lumine’s constant intrusions.

‘Again? Just move in to my room at this point. You spend like nine hours in here every day.’

‘Every night, to be exact. And maybe I will.’

‘Yeah, since you can’t take care of yourself.’

The memory lingered, and soon he was looking at Lumine who laid awkwardly on the ground, goosebumps on her skin as she rubbed her arms.

“It’s cold,” he whispered, going the longest he could without blinking.

It is cold. Just like the winter nights when he would stave off the frigidness from bothering his sister.

“Real c—cold. Maybe w—we should forget this world,” she shivered, teeth chattering and sitting back up to hug her knees.

Aether was also cold, but it was not enough to take his attention away from Lumine. He wanted to help her, wanted to remember more of those chilly winter nights.

“Lumine, let’s huddle up.”

He walked towards her and plopped down to her left. He scooted in, shoulder to shoulder, using his long scarf to protect her and himself from any stray drops that blew in.

“This is a bit better. And if I do this—”

His arms wrapped around her chest and back for his hands to reach her other shoulder, pulling her in a comfortable amount.

“—We won’t be so cold. Well?”

“It’s a bit too warm now.”

“Better than freezing.”

And as her shivers subsided, and as the rain fizzled out, he remembered more of that night.

‘I give up. You can sleep with me during the winter, in my cramped bed where I wake up to half my body hanging off.’

‘Yeah, but at least you’re not cold, and besides, you’re helping me out.’

‘So you want me to take care of you?’

‘Sure, that’d be great. Thanks, brother. You’re the best!’

Aether let out a giggle, ending his reminiscing and ignoring the memories of everything else they said that night.

He should have asked Lumine from the start. If he had then finding the goal he wanted would have been easy and quick.

Patting and rubbing her arm, he dozed off from the gentle warmth, his protective hug providing the both of them ample heat to ignore the chills.

A young girl, young to the point that being alone in a city so huge could be a danger to her. All the passersby ignored the problem, her cries never stopping.

Now, Aether could do the same, and under any other circumstance he would have. His meet up with Lumine was fast approaching, and if he did decide to help the little girl he would surely be late to return to his sister. He did promise her not to be late anymore.

However, the little girl just so happened to have short blonde hair, the shade exactly that of Lumine’s, hair cut almost alike. With her small fists up to her damp eyes, her head tilted downwards, it reminded Aether of the time he found Lumine holed up in her room, the girl a replica of his sobbing sister of that day, all because five year old Lumine had a fight with their parents.

Aether sighed and cursed himself for being so stupid.

“Hey, why are you crying? All on your own?” he said, dropping his voice to the most caring one he had.

“My—my mom—I—I can’t f—f—find her!” she stuttered, the problem now known.

“I see, alright. Don’t worry, I’ll help you find your mom. Here, eat this, then you can tell me what your mom looks like and where you last saw her. How does that sound? Good?”

He kneeled before her, taking out a treat he bought for Lumine and giving it to the child. The child uncovered her eyes, wiped her tears away, and ate the treat, her sniffles dying out and calming down.

“Thank you very much, mister. Mom said not to talk to strangers, but she said that good strangers like you are fine!”

“Looks like your mom thought you well. I guess you feel better now? Tell me, what does your mom look like?”

She enthusiastically talked to Aether, detailing as much as she could. They spent half an hour searching for her mother, succeeding in finding her at last.

“Thank you so much for helping us, I was starting to worry. My daughter says you gave her some food. If it’s fine with you, could I invite you over for dinner? I’m sure my husband would be glad to see you. He spoils our little girl a bit too much.”

They’re both kind to him, the three going back and forth between invitations and refusals.

“It’s fine, really. I have to get back to my family too. She’s probably upset at me by now.”

“Well, at least take this. No refusing.”

The woman forced some pocket change onto Aether’s hand, gave another thank you, and walked away to a corner of the park they were in.

“A family of three, I’m guessing. And they’re going to be having dinner together.”

Once upon a time, Lumine was not the only person Aether had meals with. He visualized the girl from earlier with her two parents, perhaps a sibling he had no clue about, in a jolly atmosphere that surrounded the dinner table, very short discussions as they ate, or not talking at all and enjoying each other’s presence.

It’s only Lumine now. Aether doesn’t mind it at all. And secretly, he prefers it that way.

“Okay. Gotta get back to Lumine.”

He turned on his heel, greeted by none other than her.

“Aeeetherrr! What are you doing standing around like a moron!?”

She darted towards him, nearly crashing into him.

“Lumine, you came to find me?”

“I had a strange feeling you were going to be late, so instead of waiting around like an idiot I decided to go and find you. And here you are, lollygagging around in a park…”

Her fury wavered, a sadness building.

“You said you wouldn’t be late again.”

Her angry face confronted his, punching him in the shoulder before giving in to a glum expression and weakly jabbing him in the side.

“You’re a liar.”

“… Can you forgive me?”

He apologized before, and proved that he made the same mistake. He asked for forgiveness this time.

“If you tell me what you were doing here.”

“I was helping a lost kid. It took a lot longer than I thought it would to find her parent.”

“Is that them over there?”

The child and her parent were in the direction Lumine pointed at, the mother pushing her daughter on a swing. Aether confirmed her observation.

“You’d rather help some kid that looks like me than meet me on time?” she said dejectedly, a grimace appearing.

“You know that’s not true. That girl reminded me of your younger self, and with how much she was crying I couldn’t walk past her,” he explained calmly and gently, not allowing annoyance at her to consume him one bit.

‘Lumine? Why are you crying?’

‘Mom and dad are being mean to me.’

‘They are? Then I’ll go tell them off.’

She heard a yell from downstairs, Aether appearing in her room seconds later.

‘They were mean to me too… Um, let’s go play in my room! I have some hidden snacks, just for you!’

He patted her shoulder, something he grew to do whenever there was an unfavorable situation.

“… Luckily for you, I am a forgiving sister. If you’re late ever again, you’ll regret it,” she said with forced cheeriness after a minute of silence.

“Thank you for forgiving me. Here, how about a big and warm hug from your brother?”

Aether embraced Lumine, rubbing her back. In the past, he had supported her only with words. Recently, he smiled at her more often, and he comforted or praised her with gestures of kindness.

(Lumine never told a soul, but she always wished for Aether to be overly kind to her. Like an over protective brother, but without the annoyance.)

“Are you feeling better?”

“I am.”

“That’s good. This time, I’ll promise to take care of you,” he said in a hushed voice, ending the embrace with one final batch of reassuring pats.

“The kid’s mom gave me some money as a reward. Let’s go buy something nice.”

“Is it enough to buy a collar and leash?”

“This joke again?”

“Serves you right… I’m kidding of course. Thank you, Aether. I’ll gladly accept your care.”

It’s a good thing Lumine accepted Aether’s care. She would be needing it.

On a sunny and cheerful day, when the sun shined down on the earth, Lumine was anything but.

Aether rose early in the morning, the racket of a coughing fit waking him in his shared inn room with Lumine.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah… I was drinking water and… ahem, ended up choking.”

He did not see a cup of water in her hand or on the stand next to her bed, and her sheets were not ruffled at all. She had not gotten out of bed.

“Are you sick?”

“No, I’m okay. It’s too early to get up, let’s—” she went into another coughing frenzy that lasted longer than the previous one.

Aether finished rubbing his eyes, focusing on Lumine who laid haphazardly on her bed. Her face was flushed, and her breathing was not silent.

“You’re sick,” he stated, propelling himself out of bed to shoo the grogginess away.

He prepared a glass of water and brought it to her. She slowly gulped, the refreshment cooling her parched throat.

“Thanks, that hit the spot. I think it’s just a cold. Nothing serious,” she groaned, Aether checking her temperature with his palm.

“You’re slightly warm. Well, go back to sleep. I’ll bring you another glass of water if you want more.”

After setting a refilled glass on the night stand, Aether laid back down, counting the seconds tick by and wary of Lumine’s condition. She took periodic deep breaths, holding coughs back until drowsiness won over.

It was almost noon when Aether heard Lumine again, more coughing and a harsh groan.

“How are you feeling?”

He stood next to her bed, taking a look at her to find she had worsened.

“I—agh—water.”

It was clear she was very unwell. Aether sat Lumine up, and when his fingers touched her skin he recoiled. She was burning, nothing like any fever she had in the past. He touched her skin again and it felt like a hot summer day.

He supported her back and brought the glass up to her lips. She shivered, and seconds later she opened her mouth to take water in, downing the whole thing.

“Ahh, thanks. Aether, it’s really hot in here… Bring me more water,” she said horsely, more coughs hounding her, then a sneeze followed.

“You’ve never been this sick before. Did you catch a disease native to this world? Listen, lay back down, and I’ll go see if I can find something out. I’ll be back in ten minutes sharp, will you be okay in that time?”

“I—Yeah. I’ll be fine. More water before you—ugh—before you leave though.”

She was struggling to speak. Aether was convinced she caught a native sickness. When he went to the lobby he gave hints of Lumine’s condition to the employee at the front desk.

“Ah, that, huh? Good thing she has you around.”

“Yeah. That. Could you give me a refresher on how to take care of it and her? Our family hasn’t been hit by it in awhile, so I kinda forgot.”

They told Aether everything he needed to know. No solid foods, keep her well hydrated, and to be extremely aware of her needs.

“I know I called it a super cold, but do not make light of it. You’ll have to be attentive of her around the clock. If it lasts for more than one day, you’ll be running low on sleep, but you can catch enough. By they way, since you’ll be so close to her, you’ll end up contracting it too. You better hope she recovers before you fall ill.”

“Then I’ll do my best to nurse her back to health. Thank you very much.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll have someone leave supplies outside your room, free of charge. Everyone knows how rough it can be, I was out of commission for almost an entire week. Also, has she vomited yet?”

“Uh, colds don’t normally involve vomiting.”

“That’s why I said ‘super cold.’ Anyways, you should probably get back to her. Right now. And be on the look out for other side effects!”

Aether thanked the receptionist again and hurriedly ran up the stairs, skipping steps and almost slipping. When he opened the door to their room, he saw Lumine trying her best to get up from her bed.

“Aether… my mouth is salivating… I think I’m gonna hurl…”

Before she could hurl, he hurled a trash bin under her, patiently rubbing her back as the last meal she ate emptied out into the bin.

“Lumine, can you stand? You were struggling to get out of bed.”

“Let me try.”

Aether drew away from her torso, steadily applying less pressure with his arms and letting her sit upright. As he let go, she began to fall forwards, and he caught her before she lunged over the bed.

“Guess not. Okay, let’s take it nice and easy. To the bathroom we go, one step at a time… just like that.”

He supported her as best as he could, inching her slowly off the bed and onto the floor, taking small steps as to not irritate her pounding headache. When they got to the sink he helped her wash her mouth, returning her back to her bed. The air was a blast of ice on his skin, Lumine’s skin hot like a fire.

“Hot… Aether, more—”

“Water, right? I’ll bring you some right away.”

“Yeah… thank you.”

If Aether assumed the sickness began sometime in the middle of the night, then she’d been sick for at least six hours, and she was already incredibly worn out. The sickness was not life threatening, but the receptionist said to not underestimate it, and Aether was hell bent on sticking to Lumine.

“Go ahead and sleep. I’ll be waiting right here for you to wake up again.”

“Yeah, okay, yeah… thank you, Aether.”

Her eyes never fully opened during the time she was awake, and her words were out of breath, her wheezing worsening. Aether forgot to eat that day, glued to her bed side and only leaving when she needed to head to the bathroom and when the supplies were placed outside the room.

The sickness was not going to last one day. She was going to get worse, and he knew thanks to the receptionist’s warning. He should have rested that night, but the worry that consumed his heart made it impossible to sleep a wink.

Throughout the night he witnessed Lumine’s body be dyed in ailment. By the morning she was drenched in sweat, had a runny nose, chest whining with each cough, and she had quite the fever.

“Aether, I’m so thirsty.”

A glass full to the brim with water was already in his hand. He helped her down it, laying her back down after the glass was empty.

“It’s so hot…”

“I know, Lumine, hang in there. Let me get a wet rag now that you’ve worsened. Hold tight.”

He laid the rag on her forehead, a wave of reassurance washing over her.

“There, nice and refreshing. Better?”

“Better… Aether, everything hurts, it aches.”

“Okay, don’t worry, Lumine. Keep telling me what’s bothering you, and I’ll take care of it for you. Let’s see… how does this feel?”

He dipped his hands into the container that held frigid liquid, and he used the same hands to soothe the aching and hotness of her body, massaging her arms and shoulders. She inhaled slowly and deeply, massive relief present on her face. She said nothing else, lulled into slumber once more.

Aether was exhausted. His eye lids were heavier than trucks, and his stomach growled like a famished beast. He only quenched the second issue. He absolutely refused to sleep. He worried that if he did, he wouldn’t wake up, leaving Lumine to suffer alone.

His nursing continued, moon back to greet him once more. Lumine was at the peak of her illness. Everything came back at the speed of a bullet. Unnatural sweating, the coughs agitating her nose to make her sneeze, more vomiting that was pure liquid, head splitting in two, limbs sore beyond belief. He was glad what came after would be health.

“Aether? Aether, I—I can’t see. Where are you?”

Even blindness was a symptom.

“I’m right here, Lumine. Close you eyes, don’t talk, you’re tired. Try to sleep, I’ll take care of you.”

Passing out is all he wished for as he redid all his efforts from the previous day to hush her groans of pain, the hours passing by as slowly as possible.

Aether fell forwards, vision blurry as he grasped what little strength he had left. Dim light shined through the window, morning near to rise. He couldn’t sleep, not yet, so he weakly hovered over Lumine, hugging her and distracting himself by stroking her hair.

“Lumine… don’t worry… your brother will take care of you… because it’s what he wants to do… it’s his… my goal.”

“Ugh, heavy. Aether? Hey, are you okay?”

Her voice was hoarse, but there was strength in it. She was still sick, but her strength was enough for Aether. He plummeted onto Lumine, everything she experienced already starting to affect him.

Everything was a blur. In the short moments he was awake, he used all his will to bring out a near unintelligible mumble. He knew every time his mouth opened her name flew on his lips.

“Go to sleep, Aether. Lumine will take care of you. Lumine is with you, your sister is here, I’m with you.”

“I… so… rry… Lu…”

“Shh, shh. Don’t say another word. Close your eyes and dream nice things.”

Aether clung to her words. It had been ages since she last spoke to him in a benevolent manner, and it stayed that way. Her words were supposed to be comforting, but they came out desperate and quick that she likely bit her tongue a few times. He drifted in and out of consciousness, always failing to check up on her during his waking moments.

“Lu… Lu… ne”

Lumine had to put her ear right by his mouth to hear him. He was worse, far, far worse than she had been. Hearing her name come out low, pained, and broken from Aether, who always said her name with enthusiasm and care, made her tremble with misery.

“I’m right here, I’m right here, brother. Lumine, your sister is right here, okay brother?”

“Sis… ter… it hurts.”

“I know it does, I know. I’ll—I’ll copy you. Like this, see? The cold water on your skin with a massage.”

She let go of his hand that she held for two days straight because he refused to let go, quickly performing the same relieving massage on him from his weakened grip.

But only her fingers touched cold water.

“No!”

Aether yelled, his hand frantically searching for Lumine’s hand. He seized it, and although his body was heated, he relaxed at the warmth.

“Oh… Aether…”

Weak, so weak was his grip. She moved her hand up to his face slowly, cupping and stroking his cheek as he held on to her.

She aimed her free hand at the pitcher jar to fill the glass of water that were both on the night stand, but the pitcher was empty. Her heart ached at what she had to do.

“Aether? I’m going to get you more water, okay? I’ll be back in a few seconds. Be strong.”

Lumine rushed to the small kitchen, refilling the pitcher and cup as Aether incoherently mumbled her name, yelling her name after five seconds.

She returned as fast as she went, and he relaxed when her palm made contact with his cheek again.

That was the only thing Aether remembered. A never ending tenderness that held his hand and face, waking up in the morning of an unknown day to the same tenderness.

The disease was still present in his body, and he felt terrible. But through the splitting head ache and screaming muscles, he managed to lean on the frame of the bed, his shaking rousing Lumine from her nap.

“What are you doing? Lay back down!”

“It’s fine. I can sit for awhile.”

“No you can’t. That receptionist told me everything I needed to know to get you back to health,” she said with a touch of anger, forcing Aether on his back.

She didn’t tell him to sleep, so he stared at the ceiling, even though his eyes begged him to relieve the heaviness by closing them. He ignored the plight, thinking and thinking when he should be resting. He parted his dry lips to speak.

“I passed out.”

“You did. Were you not taking care of yourself?”

“You’d never been that sick before, so I… freaked out and stayed by you the whole time.”

“Dummy… though, because of your efforts, I was able to get over it quickly.”

“I wanted to take care of you the entire time,” he whispered, fatigue slowing him down by the second.

“I want to take care of you, Lumine… It’s what I want to do…”

His body was tired of his selfishness, dragging his consciousness away.

“Because I’m family?”

“Because taking care of you… is my purpose… it’s what I chose.”

“… I told you to stop thinking about goals and dreams,” she muttered.

“But if taking care of me is what you chose, I don’t mind,” she smiled, tightening the hold she had on her brother ever tighter.

“Too bad… I can’t do that when I’m sick,” he squeezed out, a warm drop of water landing on his cheek. With his remaining energy he wiped at where the warm drop came from, directly above him.

He smiled at her, patiently waiting for his health to return, so he could continue a purpose that shouldn’t be a purpose, but one that he selfishly chose to be.

It’s what made him happier than happy, and it’s what he intended to do forever, even if someone forced them away from each other.

Aether wasn’t sure how long he had been punching the sand for. He knew his hand hurt, knew his arm was getting tired. Knew all the hammering away unveiled a rock, and knew his brain registered that his hand would be injured if he went through with his next punch.

Aether didn’t care. He halted his fist when it was charged in the air, and brought it straight down at full force.

It hurt, but it didn’t hurt as much as seeing those cubes surround Lumine.

Aether suppressed a scream filled with raw agony, and he raised his fist again and brought it right back down.

It hurt, but it didn’t hurt as much as his heart when he saw the fear on Lumine’s face.

Aether used the adrenaline from the pain to raise his arm again, and with all of his power he drove his fist down, onto the small rock that was splattered with his blood.

It hurt, but it didn’t hurt as much as the realization that Lumine was not by his side.

He cashed down, shrinking into himself and choking on his own sorrow. His throat clenched up, and he couldn’t make a sound. Not bellow out a cry or howl, not scream a profanity or curse the gods, only feel the blood trickle down his fingers from his knuckles, skin peeled and flesh stinging.

Memories resurfaced, memories that should have stayed in the recesses of his mind, for there was no reason to view those memories, because Lumine was always with him.

Memories of his words to Lumine resurfaced.

“I won’t be late again, I promise.”

“I want to take care of you, Lumine. It’s what I want to do.”

Once the words of his past self had finished echoing in the chambers of his rage and despair induced mined, he felt it.

Betrayal.

Not from Lumine, no, not from his sister. The only betrayal that came from her that he could think of would be her jokes that she back peddled on.

The betrayal was from him to her.

He had promised to never be late again, and when he saw a crying girl that resembled her younger self…

Lumine was right. He’d rather help someone that looked like her than return to her.

And he was late again, when his wings—no, that’s an excuse—when he was too late to reach out to her hand in time, too late to blow the cubes away from her body, too late to stop that Goddess from taking her away.

Lumine was right. He was a liar.

A liar to her, and to himself.

Because when he was bed ridden by the sickness that had afflicted her first, he told her that he’d take care of her. Saving her from the Goddess, that would have been caring for her. Comforting her right now, as they were separated, that would have been caring for her.

She wasn’t there. He couldn’t care for her in her time of need. He failed his purpose.

And finally, Aether cried, weeping on the sand of some strange world, all without Lumine, the sister he held most dear in his heart, lost in some corner of the planet, and so was he, lost.

He thought on that day of solitude, that maybe it was a good idea to buy a collar and leash. He didn’t chuckle, didn’t even laugh, just wished Lumine had gone through with that joke.

That way, if she tugged on the leash, he would know where to find her.