Chapter Text
You stood in silence as Ajak attempted to calm down the villagers of Tenochtitlan. You knew it would be a futile effort. The villagers were beside themselves with fear and panic, and wouldn't believe a word she said. The crowd was beginning to grow as villagers fled their homes in terror. "You have my word. The Eternals and I will restore your homes and replace anything that was lost to the fires."
"And who is to say this will not happen again?" A villager shouted in his native language, "We must dispose of that monstrosity!" Ikaris seemed to go rigid at that, and you saw a flash of anger cross his face. "You will all calm down and be reasonable! The threat is over! The danger has passed! Please, everyone, head to the shelters we have built, and we will fix everything as you sleep." The crowd was beginning to disperse, but several villagers moved forward, yelling and arguing. One farmer threw a rock your way, only to be turned into a butterfly as Sersi caught it.
This caught Ikaris' attention and his cerulean eyes began to glow brightly, "Ikaris, don't do anything rash!" Sersi shouted, but it was no use. The sturdy Eternal marched towards the farmer, and in one quick motion, pulled him up by the collar of his shirt.
"Ikaris!" Ajal shouted, "Put him down. Now." With a growl, he tossed the man to the ground and flew back to the group.
"Please, everyone, calm down! I will ensure that you are properly fed and safe, but only if you will treat us as you treat each other." Several villagers grumbled but made no move to retaliate. As the villagers moved to where the shelters were, Ajak turned to all of you. "Sersi. You, Sprite, and Makkari will put out the fires. Druig and I will stay with the villagers. The rest of you, get to work on rebuilding their homes."
With that said, everyone went their respective ways. Ajak observed you sorrowly as you looked around, unsure of what to do. "Y/N? Would you like to-"
"No, I've done enough" you replied stoically. She reached for you, but you moved away before she could do anything, "I'd like to be alone Ajak." An outline of golden wings sprouted behind you as you moved to turn away, "We know you mean no harm" her voice called out to you, but you didn't look back.
You left the village behind and flew to a nearby river. Walking along the bank, you peered at the fast-flowing water. It was peaceful here. The water reflected the sky, the sun warming your skin. You could hear the quiet chirping and buzzing of insects. The only other sound was the light breeze rustling the leaves of the tall trees above. You smiled at the placidity, nothing could go wrong; there were no lives to ruin. You walked farther along the riverbank until you reached a fallen tree. It leaned against the riverbank, half-submerged in the water. You sat against the trunk and stared at the water. Where the water rushed by, the reflection of the sky and sun were perfect. You closed your eyes and basked in the rays.
"I knew I'd find you here."
Opening your eyes, you saw Thena smiling at you. She sat on the log next to you, "What are you doing here Thena? Shouldn't you be helping the others?" You returned your gaze to the water. "The boys can handle the work themselves," she replied in jest. "I wanted to have a little time alone with you." You didn't respond. Thena took your silence as a reason to sit beside you, "Eris-"
"Why has Arishem forsaken me with this curse Thena?" the words tumbled out of your mouth. Thena's face fell as her eyes roamed over you, "Your powers are what you were given to protect yourself," she shifted closer to you and put a hand on your arm reassuringly, "Your powers are beautiful and important as much as ours."
You recoiled away and scoffed at her words, "Beautiful? Thena, with all of my respect, you are foolish for thinking that." She didn't respond, instead, she reached for your hand, "Come with me, my dear," she pulled you up and stood with one arm around you, "Let me show you."
You allowed Thena to lead you as you followed her to the edge of the small forest. The dark smoke and ash from the fires came into view; nothing remained except the charred remains of the villager's homes. The sight made you want to weep. "Tell me Eris. What do you see?"
You turned your vision away from the village to look at your hands, glowing faintly. "I see destruction," you stated bitterly, "I see why the people of this world fear me so." Thena was quiet for a moment. Her face was serious, concerned, "You know what I see?" When you didn't respond she lifted your chin with her finger, "I see a beautiful gift, Eris." You looked up at her, puzzled as she moved her finger to stroke your cheek. "I see life," she said softly, "Life that will thrive from the ashes of the fires as lush green grass." You scoffed at her words.
"That is Sersi, Thena. Sersi will bring the grass, the life that everyone holds so dearly." You sharply snapped as you pulled away from her touch. Thena stood for a moment, before stepping back, "You are capable of more than you know." You didn't respond. There was a brief silence before Thena continued, "I hope you will one day see that." With those final words, she turned and left you. Golden rays shone in the distance as the boys rebuilt what had been destroyed; you watched Thena make her way back. When she was out of view, you turned; walking back to the river, you were vaguely aware of the even number of orchids sprouting beside you as you absent-mindedly ran your hands across the trees.
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As Thena returned to Tenochtitlan, her eyes wandered over to everyone as they re-grouped at the center of the village. Everyone except you, who had remained in the forest for the entirety of the day. They knew you well enough to know you would not return until you were ready, "Eris?" Sprite asked.
The girl had considered herself an outsider, as much as you had yourself, for most of her life, so she had taken a particular liking to you. You had never been particularly close friends, but you respected her for her intelligence.
Thena shook her head solemnly as she reached the others. "I can change their views. I can make them respect-"
"We do not interfere with the humans or their views," Ajak declared, cutting Druig off. He scoffed, "But they do not see-"
"They do not need to see," Ajak interrupted him once again, "No matter how upsetting it is to us." When no one seemed to say anything else, she moved to return to the shelters, "You're all free to do as you please."
The night was spent in silence. No one was in the mood to do anything and everyone was too preoccupied with their thoughts.
"This isn't right."
Everyone looked up, searching for which one of them had spoken. Their eyes settled on Gilgamesh; he exhaled heavily. "These people. Eris doesn't deserve their treatment." They all remained quiet; uncertain of what to do. "If something like this happens again, I don't think Eris will be able to face it," Thena stated as she let her gaze turn to the forest. "Face it? Eris never faces anything. We always have to clean up the messes," shocked faces turned towards Sprite, who was blatantly glaring at Thena. The girl may have considered you as a friend, but she was tired of fixing all of your problems.
"Well, I mean; if I ruined a village multiple times, I wouldn't wanna show my face either." Kingo chuckled awkwardly as he tried to make light of the situation, which resulted in being elbowed by Phastos.
"It's not like Eris has much of a choice," Ikaris said defensively, "Continuously being ridiculed, and belittled, and shamed for who you really are, well, that's enough to drive anyone to do something desperate, such as..." He trailed off.
Ikaris didn't need to finish his sentence for the group to understand; no one had wanted to think about the possibility. You had become distant from the group, and your absence of interaction with them had created an uncomfortable tension. They wanted to talk to you; wanted you to know that no matter what the villagers thought of you, they still considered you as one of their own.
They continued discussing amongst themselves, attempting to come up with a solution.
"Perhaps it would be best to ignore the issue, for now." Gilgamesh looked over at Thena. She held no expression, but he knew that she was distressed. Even though the Eternals were not blood-related, it seemed that you and Thena were. Your souls connected as if you had been together since you were children.
They all nodded their heads thoughtfully, before departing their respective ways.
You stood alone in the forest, watching as the others left. As much as you wanted to cry, you felt numb. The lump in your throat demanded that you suppress the emotion. Your brain, however, was not so quick to obey your commands. Just wait, you thought to yourself. If nothing had changed within the next few millennia, you would leave, alone
Always alone.
Tears cascaded down your face as you made your way to your home.