#TYSM FOR COMMING ME INA!!

[stormgardenscurse]

A Treasure Found

About: A oneshot with Kalim and Yuulis for the wonderful @aulilyu!! 🦦 💌

Link to their comic here! 😳

The breeze in Scarabia was pleasantly cool at night, and the view from the lounge’s balcony proved serene enough to calm even the most troubled of souls.

The desert could make one feel smaller than they were from its vastness, compared to the warm community that otherwise lived within these walls; that was where having a friend came in handy, they supposed. 

Yuulis rested their elbows on the railing of the balcony that opened up to the sky. Despite the earlier task of searching through the treasure room, they did enjoy how quiet it was here - it was the most serene moment they’ve enjoyed for a while.

“Thanks for the help, Yuulis.” Kalim smiled from beside them. “I didn’t expect you to be so good at finding things! If it was just me alone, I think I would’ve been there for days.”

"Well, I'm part of the NRC staff after all. Though why does that feel like I'm being associated with some type of thief?" 

“Mmm, even if you were one, you'd be the nicest thief I've met."

...He's met thieves? 

“I felt more like a hired bandit, maybe.”

Kalim laughed, a refreshing sound that Yuulis couldn’t fully trust. “Well, it’s not like I’ve had that much of an experience with either. I could tell you had a good eye though.”

Yuulis looked thoughtfully at the pair of clips in Kalim’s hand, shaped like triangles with soft curves and a delicate surface of diamonds. “I might, but I still can’t tell what those are supposed to be.”

Seeing as they were able to help find the hair clips, Kalim assumed they meant that in a decorative sense. “They’re cat ears! See?”

Kalim holds up the clips to his own head to demonstrate, earning an unconvinced look from Yuulis. “Um… Not really.”

He huffed lightly, gesturing for them to get closer. Kalim reached towards Yuulis to nimbly clip the accessories onto their head, adopting a self-satisfied grin. “There! That’s how it’s supposed to look.”

“...Kalim. If they’re on my head, I still can’t see them.”

“Oh. Right.” His smile barely wavers before he thinks of a new idea. “I’ll just take a picture then!”

…Well, if it was only just the two of them here, Yuulis supposed that’d be fine. If need be, they could simply delete it from his gallery later on.

The moment quieted as Kalim found his phone, trying to get a good angle as he walked around Yuulis. They considered for a moment that aside from his otter-like demeanor, Kalim was quick on his feet. They were sure that if he wanted, he could mask the sound of his footsteps to sneak about.

Perhaps in another life, he would’ve made a good thief. Not that Yuulis minded the current Kalim that much.

“There, see? It looks cute on you!”

A little smile made its way onto their lips. The sight of cat ears was… “I guess it does. But aren’t you worried I’ll just walk off with these without returning them?”

“Nope, these are for you, after all.” There was the brilliant smile he has when hosting guests.

For a split second, Yuulis found themself at a loss for words - he’s kidding, right? There were at least four dozen diamonds on these things!

“I… Are you sure?”

“Of course! I’ve always intended to give you something. When I saw them the other day I got reminded of you… so here we are! Sorry for needing your help searching for them though, I didn’t expect someone to move things around!”

“It’s no problem…” Yuulis touched the clips on his hair, looking at Kalim curiously. “These are definitely expensive though, even for a special gift. Just what kind of life do you have back home?”

It wasn’t confrontational - Yuulis knew to phrase their words in a softer way these days, especially with students. The staff members were still fair game though.

“Mmm, we have quite the lively household. I have a big family, after all. But because I’m supposed to inherit everything, I guess I was raised to be hospitable?” Kalim smiled, though the energy in the air had quieted to a more serious tone.

“Did you like it, growing up?”

It suddenly felt as if Yuulis could see through him - oddly enough, Kalim wasn’t too offset by that. He chuckled, more hollow than usual. Like he was remembering something. “Everyone treated me well, it was only sometimes during parties when this group of adults… I guess they were just interested in me.” He shrugged. “In the business sense. Whispering wasn’t unusual, but the way they glance at you - it can be kind of unsettling. Though I’m sure they don’t mean any harm.”

They waited for him to continue, glancing at the faraway look in his eyes.

“...Once, they offered me a new servant. One to replace Jamil.” Kalim’s gaze darkened. “They said this one would be ‘better trained’ and ‘more fitting’. I said no, of course. How could I ever think of replacing him?

“I never told Jamil though. I thought I was protecting his feelings, I guess." He laughed, though it felt empty. "But looking at things now, I should've done more."

"Why tell me something you never told your best friend?" Yuulis couldn’t help but ask.

Kalim smiled, looking up towards the sky, the stars winking like diamonds.

For a moment, it felt safe to say it.

“I guess you feel like a person I can confide in?” The air grew lighthearted again. Kalim looked down at his hands on the railing. “You don’t feel related to the picture back home. Maybe that’s why I ended up telling you.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Kalim spotted a familiar sight under the balcony. Its golden tassel peeked out from the darkness, making him shift his arms to rest differently on the handrails. He was suddenly reminded of the sky above them, even more vast than the desert they were looking over.

“Hey Yuulis, have you ever tried chasing the stars?”

Before they could offer him a response, Kalim raised himself to peer over the balcony, teetered, and leapt. Not a moment later while Yuulis almost had a heart attack and rushed forwards, Kalim’s figure floated up, cross-legged and sitting on the magic carpet they recognised from the treasure room.

I swear to–

Kalim burst into laughter at the offended look on their face. “Pfft– Wait, I’m sorry! Yuulis,” The carpet flew around to interrupt them from leaving. “Yuulis, I’m sorry.” When they crossed their arms to stare at him expectantly, he offered them his hand, outstretched. 

“I know I'm not the most responsible person, but do you trust me to bring us back in one piece?"

Yuulis regarded him for a moment, before sighing and accepting his hand to pull themself up. "You better not kill us both, Kalim."

"Haha, that's the spirit!" Despite their reluctance from earlier, Yuulis had to admit that feeling the wind on their face was addicting. “When it’s dark out, we can go as fast as we want without the Sun stopping us!”

“I didn’t think the sunlight would stop you,” they commented.

“Well, if you want to do this again in the day, I wouldn’t mind.” Kalim guided the carpet higher. “I wasn’t that great of a host today with entertaining my friend, so you can come back anytime for a re-do!”

His eyes brightened as they reached an altitude just right for gliding through the sky. “It’s just that at night, I guess I like how I can see everything at my own pace? There’s no glare to mar my sight.”

Hmm… “In that case, you’d probably hate having my bangs.”

Kalim blinked, raising a hand to brush the strands near his forehead. A hearty chuckle escaped him. “I guess so! Though you seem to see things quite clearly regardless.”

Yuulis supposed they did. Though it wasn’t always to their own credit; some stories had to be heard from a person, not read from a book. Like one of a boy with garnet eyes, and the blessings of an oasis in his smile.