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The way the Promare speak is alien.
Which, granted, makes sense. They are aliens.
But this is a far more important observation to make when considering the fact that these lifeforms are inextricably bound to human hosts. Human hosts who hear them. Human hosts who act on the Promare’s demands (at least, if you’re following the Foresight school of thought, which nobody who saw value in the New World really did).
Galo’s only heard the voice of the Promare once, when Lio passed off a portion of his flame to protect him. He couldn’t make out a single word in proper English – he’d been distracted at the time, sure, but he still remembered the sound of it’s voice. Or, “voice”. Despite being basically static, there was something about it that had simply sounded desperate and angry.
Mournful, when he’d set it on Lio’s chest. And that was the last time he’d heard it.
They’re back now, though, and given a moment of quiet contemplation in HQ, Galo finds his mind wandering to the little firebeasts themselves – in particular prompted by watching Lio train his against one of Lucia’s prototypes.
(As it turns out, having three Burnish actively stress-test her inventions during development instead of on the field is quite an asset for her. They all hope the excessive need will never really be necessary now that they’re all on the same side, but as their resident girl in the chair says, “You never know.”)
She gives a little cheer from her station when Lio finally stops to take a break, his flames searing off his right arm and flickering back beneath the skin. He’s smiling, despite the soft panting he’s doing, and honestly Galo is quite charmed by that look. It very nearly distracts him from his wandering thoughts.
(He’s been much happier ever since the Promare reared their heads again – though Galo suspects only he and the two generals actually notice, given how subtly Lio’s honest emotional spectrum usually shows itself. Seriously, for a guy who’s so passionate about what he does, Lio can be such a closed book sometimes… Galo likes that about him, though. He can show his emotions loud enough for the both of them!)
“Integrity at 60%! That’s a pass, baby,” Lucia whoops, spinning in her chair a few times with her arms up before slamming her feet down to face Lio with a feral grin; “Alright! Once I get some repairs in on this thing, we’ll go for round five outside the city – I wanna see how she holds out when you throw everything you’ve got at her!”
Lio laughs softly, crossing his arms.
“With all due respect, Fex, nothing could withstand everything I’ve got.”
“Sheesh, and he’s so humble about it. Fine, give it 80%, then.”
Lio winces a little bit, jokingly uncertain, and Lucia’s mood takes a 180 as she leans back with a groan.
“70%! 60! I don’t care, just… Beat her up like you beat up Galo on that roof!”
The blue-haired firefighter stiffens at that, shooting a glare her way with a loud “hey!” while Lio laughs again, louder this time.
“I can do that. Let me know when it’s ready.”
“Yeah, yeah. Go take a shower or something while you wait, you’re gonna make HQ stink with all that BO.”
They stick out their tongues at each other before Lio walks away, hiking up the metal stairs to meet his boyfriend while Lucia collects her tools. Galo walks into the lounge with him before the space could fill with noise, still sulking to himself.
“Y’know, I feel the need to remind you – everyone, really – that I won that fight.”
“We let you win,” Lio replies coolly, only amused by his boyfriend’s continued agitation.
“Yeah, well… Still counts!”
“Whatever you need to tell yourself. Big, strong man.”
His teasing is condescending, but still loving. Galo finds it hard to sulk genuinely after that, managing out a halfhearted grumble as Lio flops down on the couch. He’s quick to join him regardless.
A comfortable silence spans between them as Lio leans into him – they shed any pretenses of shyness pretty early on, but something about Lio Fotia, Leader of the Mad Burnish just openly expressing his affection like this still makes Galo a little giddy, even though he’d loudly normalized this behaviour already through interactions with Gueira and Meis in front of the rest of Burning Rescue.
Without any need or want to play it cool, he simply squishes Lio into him with an arm, earning a happy hum in response, and the silence continues.
At least, until Galo’s broken train of thought finishes its repairs and starts chugging along again, at which point the firefighter gasps out a soft “oh,” sitting up a little.
“Right! Lio, I had a question for you. If it’s too invasive or whatever, you don’t need to answer, I’m only curious.”
“... Okay?”
Despite being quite used to Galo’s abrupt lightbulb moments and bursts of nonstop speaking, the prelude still has Lio a little taken aback despite his loose interest, and it’s visible – so Galo tries to reel it in a little.
Keyword, tries.
“Back in the cave –” Ages ago, but they still both remember that evening so damn vividly. “ – you told me the flames spoke to you, right?”
“Yes. They still do, if that’s where you’re going –”
“Well – yes, and no. Let me –”
He huffs a little, shaking his head and withdrawing his arm to try and articulate his thoughts properly. Lio shifts to give him a little space to think, as meager as it is, his expression only growing more puzzled the longer this drags on.
“When you… When you protected me from Kray, that fire. I heard it. But it wasn’t words,” He manages, looking relieved and satisfied once the words are out of his brain and in the air; “It was just… Noise. So, like – how do you know what the Promare are actually saying?”
Lio just stares for a moment, processing the question.
Then he hums.
“... That’s a fair question.”
He ponders this query for a moment, leaning back into the cushions. Galo fidgets, bouncing his knee and playing with his hands, but allows Lio that time to think. The Promare aren’t easy to explain, after all – every time he tries to remember Deus’ crash course, his mind reels. It’s all a little beyond him.
He’s at full attention when Lio straightens at last, a small flame forming between his hands.
“The Burnish are connected to the Promare,” He tries; “We hear them like secondary thoughts in our heads. It’s not like noise in the real world that you can filter out – it’s all internal, if that makes sense.”
“... Sure.” It doesn’t, but Galo won’t stop him yet. Lio usually explains himself well at the end of the day.
“So, you think of it more like an impulse, or an intrusive thought.”
Lio pauses, then jerks his head at the coffee table.
“If someone put a slice of pizza there for you right now, your knee-jerk reaction would be?”
“Eat it,” Galo says without missing a beat.
“And if someone lit the table on fire?”
“Put it out.”
“That’s how we hear the Promare. It’s not so much words as it is a strong feeling – our brains are just able to find the words for that feeling because we’re connected. When I told you they wanted to burn so fervently – that’s just the feeling we all carried.”
Galo hums thoughtfully. Now it does make more sense. He stares at the little flame in Lio’s hands, tilting his head.
“What does it say now?”
Lio follows his gaze, staring in turn for a long moment before he closes his eyes to focus a little harder on the voice – at least, Galo assumes as much. He speaks again before long, his voice softer, like he’s straining to hear (or mesmerized by the sound; it’s hard to tell if it’s awe or frustration in his tone).
“They are happy. They love burning,” He smiles, huffing out a laugh, and now Galo is quite sure it’s awe in his voice; “They love being alive, and connected to us. They want to feel everything Earth has to offer. They…”
He trails off, his brow furrowing a bit.
“... They are sorry for everything that’s happened. They’re glad it’s better.”
He opens his eyes when Galo cups his hands under his own, leaning down to inspect the flame a little closer and smile.
“Empathetic little guys, aren’t they?”
“Well, they do feel our pain.”
Lio pauses again, his gaze clouding after those words, and Galo peers up, suddenly concerned – but with a second thought, he doesn’t need to question the dip in mood. He knows Lio well enough to know where his mind is going, and the same thought slips through his.
With every Burnish who died, a Promare had died with them.
Galo wonders if the Promare mourned their fallen in the same way, or if they just shared the pain of the Burnish. He also, briefly, wonders what Kray’s Promare thought of him – did it know? Was it ashamed of its host?
He tries to shake the thoughts. They might never know the answers, after all – and a part of him thinks they might be better off that way. Still, he has a feeling those questions will haunt him late at night, when sleep is elusive.
For the moment, he draws his attention to something more important – distracting Lio from those selfsame thoughts. Because if he’s got it bad, Lio’s got it worse; that much was an irrefutable truth he’d taught himself.
(It caused no shortage of arguments between them. But Galo believed it with all his heart, and it gave him even more motivation to be a good partner, so he repeated it like a mantra.)
All it takes is him dipping his thumb into the blonde’s palm, soaking up the gentle, harmless heat, to clear the clouds in his eyes. He’s more attentive when it comes to Galo interacting with his fire, and smiles when it creeps up the digit just a little ways.
“They like you.”
“Yeah? ‘Course the little fire-guys can’t resist a blazing soul like mine!”
Galo grins, and Lio laughs, relaxing his hands. The flame dances into Galo’s palm once he pulls away, and the firefighter can’t help but be at least a little awed by it, listening to its chatter again. Hearing it himself, he understands Lio’s translation even more clearly – at least the joyful parts of it. It almost sounds like the Promare is giggling as it dances out of his hands and up his arm, resting on his shoulder like a bird.
“You’re really not fazed by this?”
“Why would I be?”
“Well. It’s just ironic how the #1 Firefighter is so liked by creatures made of literal, actual fire. I thought you’d be more bothered, given how you reacted in the core…”
Gears start turning in Galo’s head, and he groans after a moment, the realization actually irking him now that he thought about it. Lio can only continue to laugh at him, but at least he has the sense to cover his mouth and attempt to muffle it with some semblance of politeness.
“I didn’t mean to ruin the moment!”
“Man… Whatever.”
Before anything else can come from their conversation, Lucia bursts in, pushing her goggles up from her eyes; her abrupt entrance makes the little flame fizzle out in surprise, and Galo almost catches himself missing its warmth. Fortunately, the inventor is quick to maintain her status as a distraction.
“Alright, gayboys! She’s up and running again! Who’s ready for a little trip to the desert?”
Lio snorts at her jab, but stands and stretches anyway, flipping his hair dramatically.
“If we must.”
“Like you aren’t pumped to beat the shit outta a Burning Rescue machine,” She snickers, turning to his boyfriend; “Galo, you coming?”
“Of course! After all, someone’s gotta make sure you two don’t get outta control!”
“I’ll let Remi know!”
She disappears again; the boys share an amused look, then follow closely behind.
While he watches Lio throw harder attacks at her machine, he once again wonders what Lio’s Promare are saying. With how bright and active the flames are, he can only imagine their laughter, and it makes him smile.