December 4: Caught in Between, For Reasons Unseen
Sorry for being a bit on the late side today (it's not technically Dec 4. here anymore), but I basically slept all day. Still not feeling too awesome, but at least it's not as bad as yesterday.
Anyway, story! No warnings for today's chapter, either.
Apparently, Mithraiel found out when he got back home, Leilan didn’t like Rin, either. It was surprising, and he couldn’t understand what could possibly have happened for the two of them to dislike each other that much.
True, Leilan definitely had his clear likes and dislikes, that were without any logic that Mithraiel could see, but Rin... He didn’t know him that well, but in all honesty, he hadn’t thought Rin cared enough for the other Angels to have ones he disliked. Or liked, for that matter. Mithraiel smiled as he remembered that he himself apparently fell in the latter category.
Still, to think that just mentioning Rin would send Leilan into a sulking fit. Not that he minded Leilan’s sulking fits; he was quite adorable when he did it, after all. And judging by the smile Indra had exchanged with Mithraiel as they proceeded to cheer Leilan up, Indra didn’t mind, either.
And that was the other peculiarity; Indra, who was usually so closely tuned to Leilan that the two of them almost seemed to communicate by telepathy sometimes, had come by later, after Leilan was properly mollified and conveniently not present, and asked:
“How is Riniel these days?”
Of course, Indra had never been as extreme in his likes and dislikes; he was the calmest, and most laid-back of the three of them. But Mithraiel could not recall a single instance where Indra had actually cared enough for something or someone Leilan disliked to actually find a moment Leilan wasn’t there to find out more about the matter.
In fact, Indra was generally too even-tempered to actively seek out information about something or someone in the first place. It showed much that he had even asked.
It was quite the mystery. Mithraiel was curious as to what could possibly be behind it all - surely there had to be a reason for Rin and Leilan’s mutual dislike, and the rarity of Indra holding someone Leilan disliked in high enough regard to ask for them - but he couldn’t really see any way of finding it out.
Asking Leilan would just bring on a sulking fit, and no answer. Rin... he doubted Rin would explain it to him. Explanations required lots of talking, after all, which definitely wasn’t Rin’s kind of thing. He had tried asking Indra, but had simply got a mysterious smile in return. He could be so obnoxious, when he wanted to.
Still, Indra encouraged Mithraiel’s meetings with Rin, even if he apparently had no interest in going himself.
“Riniel is lonely. And too stubborn for his own good,” Indra had said. “Actually having conversation with someone - or just being in someone’s company, really - would be good for him.”
So every few days or so, Mithraiel would take the lakeside walk to the waterfall, to have a chat with Rin. Of course, they never set a time for these meetings, so it was all rather random. Sometimes Rin would be there, sometimes he wouldn’t. If he wasn’t, Mithraiel would simply sit by the lake and enjoy the smells and the sounds, or cool his legs in the water, if the day was hot.
On an extremely hot day - and those were rare on Lumaris, the Angel world - he had even discarded his clothes to shower in the waterfall. He was rather glad that Rin hadn’t shown up
that day, though. While he didn’t really mind being seen nude, he doubted Rin would be comfortable with it. It would probably have been... awkward.
As time passed, however, it seemed that Leilan caught on to the fact that generally, when Mithraiel went away, it was to meet Rin. Indra obviously did his best to minimize the damage, so to speak, when Mithraiel was gone, but Leilan became increasingly sulky.
Before, Leilan sulking had been something that happened once in a blue moon. He was generally a good-humoured Angel. But as months passed since Rin had come to the area, it seemed to almost become his default state.
It was frustrating, to say the least. Mithraiel wanted Leilan to be happy; he cared deeply for him, and it hurt to see him like this. But he cared for Rin, too, and couldn’t simply ignore him just because talking to him made Leilan sulk. Besides, as far as Mithraiel could tell, Rin didn’t seem to have any other friends, at least none that he met on a regular basis. He didn’t want to abandon him. Just like Indra had said, Rin seemed lonely, and if he could ease that loneliness a little, it made Mithraiel happy.
Still, Leilan’s increasingly bad mood was hard to take. At its worst, it almost made Mithraiel want to avoid him, at least until he cooled down, but that usually had the opposite effect. And how could he reason with him, make him understand, if just mentioning Rin’s name was enough to annoy him?
“It’s not your fault, Mith,” Indra had whispered, one night after Leilan had fallen asleep. Once, Mithraiel had tended to be the first to sleep, but lately, he was having trouble sleeping at all.
“Don’t worry so,” Indra continued with a gentle caress. “Leilan is simply being childish. He will grow up in time, so don’t blame yourself, sweet.”
Mithraiel could just barely make out Indra’s pained smile in the darkness. He returned it with one of his own. “I will try, Indra. Thank you.”
Indra shook his head ever so slightly. “No, thank you. For not abandoning Rin. It would have been easier to do so, I should know. He is a good friend, so... thank you.”
Mithraiel blinked in surprise, before nodding his acknowledgement. With another smile, Indra closed his eyes and went to sleep.
That night, like many before, Mithraiel did not sleep very well. But it was for completely different reasons. Indra had given him much to think about.