Spring Cleaning [Tenrou]

[Aiden Rhytek]

One would expect the Eternals who dwell in the Endless Realms to be beyond mortal comprehension. God-like beings who could defy death and aging, create or destroy with a wave of their hands, and work magic beyond the imagination of most people; surely they were the pinnacle of existence. But Eternals were not always Eternals. They arose from the magi, who were human. And though the Eternals in body were no longer human, changed by the strange elements they commanded, they still had human emotions and quirks. Especially the young ones. Especially Aiden.

Sitting cross-legged on his bed, Aiden examined his room. It wasn't that bad, he thought. So maybe clothes were everywhere, and food was glued to the dressers, but that didn't mean anything. Just because the kitchen downstairs was so layered in grime that it took raising a hurricane wind to blow out the stench, just because he hadn't seen his living room floor in a decade because he'd flooded half the downstairs a few years back--that didn't mean his house was messy. Just a little rough around the edges. There was nothing wrong with that. Aiden would have been perfectly happy with his living situation if it weren't for a certain fae.

Involuntarily clenching his fists, he growled in anger. He would show her! Calling his beautiful house a ramshackle dump? This place would be spotless the next time she saw it. His walls would gleam like the Seelie castle walls only...better! Not that Aiden would be doing any of the cleaning of course. That was what Servitor Spirits were for. Closing his eyes, Aiden reached into the....god, where did Servitor Spirits come from? He should probably care more about this. But it didn't matter right now. Aiden yanked something, and summoned a spirit. Hopefully he wouldn't get a prissy one.

[Tenrou Kurokaze]

Being a servitor spirit sucked. And one Tenrou Shinrai Kurokaze was about to experience the inconveniences of his position once again. He had spent the night in the mortal realm, watching a movie. At times like that, he enjoyed being a spirit. Mortals couldn't see him. Of course, here were some exceptions, but they weren't all that common. Thus, he simply walked in, waited 'til everyone found his or her seat, and then he took one of the empty ones. Fooling around in the mortal realm was one of his favorite activities. he could do almost anything, and poor humans wouldn't be any wiser. So, yeah, there were good things about being a servitor, but they couldn't outshine what awaited him this day.

He was sleeping peacefully, in an empty hotel room. It was easy to get inside, he simply used his power over metals to open the door, then he closed it the same way. It was a king sized bed, around 1 meter tall, and the mattress was just perfect. He fell asleep in 2 minutes of collapsing into the bed, and he had been sleeping ever since then. He turned around in the bed, oblivious to the magic at work, trying to pull him to another realm. Then, all of a sudden, he started falling, and hit the ground hard.

He swore as he opened his left eye, trying to keep the annoying light out. It took a few seconds for everything to settle in, but he managed. First of all, he was lying on the ground, and it was obviously not his comfy hotel room. Next, fore mentioned ground was littered with trash. And last, there was someone sitting on a bed, right in front of him. He had his fair share of troublesome wake-ups, but this was the roughest he experienced, and he was not going to put up with the selfishness of the Eternals.

"Oww! Do you know what's the time?" said Tenrou, while picking up himself from the floor, and dusting off his coat, before introducing himself. The man was his summoner after all. it never hurt to be nice to them, maybe they would spare him from the worse tasks.
"Tenrou S. Kurokaze, reporting for duty, sir!"

[Aiden Rhytek]

Aiden examined the result of his summoning with interest. He'd never been one to employ servants, much less Servitor Spirits; the only memory of domestic help that he retained from his childhood was that of his mother's live-in nurse, who had been unable to save her from the wasting disease. Shrugging off the disquieting emotions that brought up, Aiden heaved a sigh. At least he hadn't gotten one that seemed to be annoying, just a tad cheeky. He seemed decent-looking for a spirit. Aiden didn't know what he had been expecting (fangs? wings? unsettling verbal innuendo?), but the man seemed average enough--brown hair with a slight curl, and brown eyes.

"I haven't the faintest idea what time it is," Aiden admitted. Though his windows were obscured by some uh, questionable substances, Aiden knew that he kept his section of the Realms in perfect suspension, always hovering at the time of day right before sunset. The colors in the clouds made for beautiful flying. "Tenrou, eh? I'm Aiden. What does the S. stand for?" Aiden floated off his bed, brushing against the ceiling. "And I've got a rather....small task for you! Very small, I'm sure, compared to some you've had in the past."

Aiden looked around the room. It really wasn't that bad: a few heaps of garbage, unwashed clothes and dishes, was that a half-eaten turnip under that chair? He didn't even like turnips, where in the world had that come from? No matter. The room might take an hour or so, but it was nothing compared to the rest of the house. Praise be to Servitor Spirits. Aiden almost pitied him, but his natural laziness won out. Instead he just basked in the glow of not cleaning up his own mess. "I just want my house cleaned. You can start here, if you want. There's nothing dangerous in this room, at least. I haven't been in the living room since I was six hundred though, you might want to keep an eye out when you're in there."

[Tenrou Kurokaze]

Tenrou promptly facefaulted at Aiden's answer. He was up to decimating armies, crafting all sorts of swords and armors, building skyscrapers made of solid steel, but he was clearly not prepared for cleaning the house of his summoner. Of course, he knew servitors could be summoned for such reasons as well, but it was simply sad.

"Damn... I don't know neither... didn't have the time to check the clock... Never mind that. My full name is Tenrou Shinrai Kurokaze, but it's just long, and troublesome. My friends call me Shin." said Tenrou, thinking 'Not that I have many friends anyway.'

He acknowledged his orders with a nod, and proceeded to clean up. He started with reaching out, and pulling all the metallic litter to himself, before compressing it into a bucket. Taking the newly formed container, he filled it with water in the kitchen, or at least what used to be a kitchen, and grabbed a piece of more or less clean cloth, before returning to the room. He would clean the windows first, and when that was out of the way, he would clean the floor, wash up, and dump the clothes in a washing machine.

The truth is, his abilities weren't exactly housework oriented. Control over metal was all nice, and interesting, but it's not like he could sweep the floor with... Wait a minute.. why couldn't he? A mischievous smile spread across his features, before he reached into his coat, producing 3 pouches filled with titanium. Then, with a wave of his hand, the chunks of metal turned into 2 brooms, which immediately started sweeping the floor, while he continued washing the windows. Of course, he made sure to make decrease the density of the metal, so it would not scratch the floor, and he honestly doubted a few more scratches would matter, seeing the state of the house. Funny thing was, the way he controlled those brooms was not all that different from controlling numerous floating blades. Maybe this task wouldn't be all that troublesome, hoped the young spirit.

"How did you manage to make such a mess anyway, sir?"

[Aiden Rhytek]

The spirit's reaction to Aiden's order was certainly amusing. Did the other Eternals have such interesting lives that he usually got more exciting tasks? Aiden had met very few of his kind (purposefully--most of them were either dull and puffed up with their own power, or so eccentric they weren't even fun to be around because the craziness wore at him) but the ones he knew usually complained about their chronic boredom. It was their own fault, Aiden had decided a long time ago. Almost none of them seemed interested in leaving the Endless Realms and exploring Esther or the Mortal World. As if becoming Eternals had flipped the "adventure" switch off inside of them. Well, they weren't his concern.

"Tenrou Shinrai Kurokaze?" Aiden repeated to himself. "Were you Japanese then, before you became a spirit? I haven't been to Japan since the Kamakura period, so forgive me if the language has changed a bit since then." With that warning, he slipped back into his native language: "I was born there in an area...I believe that it's still called Kyoto, yes? That was the capital when I lived there. I don't know if it still is." As he spoke, he watched the spirit clean. So manipulation of metal was his power? How interesting. Could he make one of those planes for Aiden? He wouldn't have to make a motor of course, Aiden could use the winds to power the contraption. If only he could find those blueprints of a jet he had snagged on his last trip in the mortal realms...they had to be around here somewhere. Maybe Tenrou would uncover them in his cleaning.

Speaking of Tenrou, hadn't he just asked him something? Ah yes--the mess. Aiden pulled at his ponytail and drifted down to a recently brushed patch of floor, stepping over one of the sweeping brooms. He hadn't known that the flooring was such a nice brown color. He'd made it of hickory wood, but that had been a while ago. "It just built up over time, I suppose," Aiden said. If he had been anyone but an Eternal, his tone might have been labeled sheepish. "I'd come back from Esther or the Seelie court and I wouldn't have the energy to do anything but throw more trash and clothes on the ground. And as for cleaning it up, well no offense--but that's what you're here for, isn't it?" Tired of standing (he was a rather lazy Eternal and rather uncaring of how shameful it was to be a lazy god) he sat down on the nice clean patch he'd staked out. "Regarding you--how'd you come to be a Servitor? I don't know much about your kind and to be honest, you're the first one I've ever bothered summoning."

[Tenrou Kurokaze]

Tenrou continued cleaning the house, his metallic brooms moving in perfect harmony with each other. it was the first time he was assigned cleaning duties, and it was certainly a challenge for him. He was summoned for various tasks, mainly creating decorations out of gold and other rare metals, bodyguard duties, and there was a time when he had to destroy a number of annoying beasts. His abilities made him quite a terrifying foe, especially when he had enough metal to work with. Yet, here he was, cleaning a house. The client on the other hand was most interesting. His summoners were rarely that curious. It was not a bad thing, quite the contrary. It was nice that the man was friendly.

The curious voice of the man brought him out of his musings. Tenrou turned towards Aiden, and responded with a smile.
"Ah yes, I was born in Japan. I lived in the Sengoku period. I'm not sure about when I died, it's been a long time since then. I used to be a master sword smith, and mage. The capital was still Kyoto at the time. I was born a in a small village near the capital."

Talking about his home brought back some memories as well. How he would practice tirelessly, forging blades all day, trying to master the trade. How he sparred with his old master the one who told him the difference between a master sword smith, and an ordinary smith. One could never forge outstanding blades without the knowledge how to use them. The young boy thus practiced swordplay. It was one of the reasons he became a combat mage. His chosen path was that of the geomancer, controlling the earth, and with it, all sorts of metal. There was only one part of his memories missing. He didn't know how he died. He must have died suddenly, without even realizing what happened, and the next thing he knew was serving Eternals.

Eternal. When he learned about the origins of his masters, he was honestly surprised. Magi became almost gods. He often wondered how his life would have turned out, had he survived just a bit longer. He might have become one of them. But in the end, most of them were bored, and they were no better than humans. But in the end, becoming insanely powerful couldn't outshine their human flaws.

"Nah, no offense taken. Most of my summoners acted as if I was a slave. Stuck-up idiots they are, so it's nice to have a friendly client once in a while. I'm not sure about how I became a servitor. As far as I know it's either the spirit of a dead person, or a being brought to life through magic. A few decades ago I've seen a servitor that was a toy tiger. We are more or less immortal. Should I die, I can be resurrected with a bit of magic. I don't know too many servitors, I spend most of my time fooling around in the Mortal World. They have cinemas. It's pretty fun to watch movies there." responded Tenrou.

After a few moments of silence he opened his mouth once more.
"How is it? I mean being an Eternal. I'm kinda interested what I missed out with dieing early."

[Aiden Rhytek]

A sword smith? That explained the man's affinity for metal, Aiden supposed. He had never bothered very much with weaponry--magic was much cleaner and far more effective. But to each their own. Tenrou certainly seemed to be adept enough with his own branch of magic. And if he had been chosen to serve the Eternals after his death, he must be fairly powerful as well. So he had lived in the Sengoku period? That was some time after Aiden had become an Eternal, and he hadn't visited Japan during that period at all. They had never encountered before today then. Kyoto still the capital...well it wasn't anymore. A modern map of Japan had told him that. But that was how it was. Time passed, and everything but he himself changed.

"Stuck-up idiots," Aiden snorted. "I don't talk to many other Eternals. Maybe it's because I'm much younger than most of them--although even some younger than me are like that--but their boredom and apathy annoy me. Look at this world. Just the Endless Realms alone could entertain someone for centuries! How can they be sick of this, let alone all the other realms? It defies reason." His momentary outburst quelled, Aiden sunk back into a casual facade.

"Cinemas? Movies? I have a television in the living room...can't make the damn thing work though. You seem to know a lot about the mortal realm. When you're done, do you think you could give it a look?"

The servitor's next words sent Aiden into careful consideration. "Being an Eternal is...odd. I was a powerful magi as a human, obviously--otherwise I never could have gained the necessary approval to become an Eternal. But the difference between the most powerful human magi and the weakest Eternal is incomprehensible. I think, because of the nature of our power; we are given control over a domain, and all aspects of that domain are ours. Take me--I'm the Sorcerer of Wind and Sky. Anyone who tries to use aeromancy against me, no matter how gifted or adept they are, is doomed to fail. Those winds are mine--like children, they may run out to other playmates, but always are called home. It's the same for the others, and whatever they rule over. But besides the power, there isn't much to enjoy. Living with just other Eternals as your companions will drive you batty--there's so much paranoia and deceit. That's why I try to get out of here, see other people. I met a nice (maybe nice was the wrong word, Aiden amended, but Tenrou didn't really need to know her true nature) Seelie fae the other day. She was older than most of the Eternals currently existing, and twice as vivacious." Aiden shut his mouth, surprised that he had said so much. "I'm sorry," he said, smiling apologetically at Tenrou. "That didn't really answer your question at all, did it?"

[Tenrou Kurokaze]

"No, I think I understand what you mean. Good thing I didn't live to become one of you, huh? I wouldn't want to turn into a boring man. Being a spirit I get to meet other a lot at the very least, and the chores you and the other Eternals make me do keep me occupied. I think I would go crazy without something to do besides having fun. Not that I'm not crazy anyway." said Tenrou with a grin plastered on his face. The way the man spoke told him everything he wanted to know. When he became a spirit, he always thought his new masters would be snobbish, but interesting people. With power came all sorts of mental quirks, and they were often funny. He has seen a samurai with serious case of split-personality once. One moment he was all serious and stern, then he turned into a cheerful man, out on a quest to taste all sorts of sake. It was one hilarious experience, and it still made him laugh. He looked around in the room, and found it as clean as he could make it without stuffing the whole building in an over-sized washing machine, so he had the brooms stop sweeping, and sent them off to start working on the rest of the house.

"This Realm is kinda cool as well. Who knows, I might meet an Eternal with power over metals, who could give me some pointers about making the alloys even tougher. Just imagine a sword crafted from the strongest alloy in the Eternal Realm. Would be kinda cool, don't you think?" said Tenrou with dreamy eyes. He couldn't help it, he used to be a sword smith after all, and he had all the time he could ever need to find the perfect materials. It would be a western, double edged sword, made of the strongest materials. The scabbard would be black, with dark blue decorations.

"Now, where is that TV? I'll take a look at it, while my brooms finish sweeping the house. I'll finish cleaning after I repair it. There are all sorts of films, and there are some incredibly cool ones you know." said the spirit, and turned a questioning gaze at the Eternal.

[Aiden Rhytek]

Aiden was glad that he'd gotten an interesting Servitor Spirit. Earlier he'd supposed that with his luck, he'd be stuck with one who would be pissed off by his terminal laziness and the state of the house, but Tenrou wasn't bad at all. Even interesting at times. Not to mention that Aiden could see his floor again, which was always a nice benefit. Maybe now that everything was in order, he could do some remodeling, and prove that his house wasn't a filthy good-for-nothing mess like some Seelie fae mistakenly believed. Yes, that would be very nice.

"An Eternal with power over metals...? I've never met one with that sort of power, but you never know. Maybe one will turn up, or become an Eternal. Weirder things have happened..." Aiden trailed off as Tenrou gazed into the distance and talked about making swords. Aiden had no interest in that, but to each their own. Swords were so messy, though. Now flying, that was the best. And the wind, to carry you anywhere you wanted.

"Ah, the TV is downstairs!" Aiden leapt off the bed and made his way down the narrow stairs that connected the bedroom to the rest of the house. Emerging into the hallway, he through a suspicious look at the living-room door. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been in the room, and wasn't sure that he wanted to enter without several defensive spells lined up. But he couldn't exactly look like a coward in front of Tenrou. Not that he was a coward--he was just taking necessary precautions. Very necessary precautions. Creaking open the door, Aiden waved at the television buried under a mountain of...things. "Yeah, that's it." he said, a little sheepishly. "Er, what are your favorite films?"

[Anastasia Lacusta]

x x

"...My word, what IS that smell?!" It was amazing no one else had complained about this stench, that there wasn't any lying dead animals in sight once the eternal finally breached the area where the smell was coming from. She had briefly visited her own whereabouts in the Endless Realm but boredom and mild curiosity led her to this place, a strange home flooding with endless junk and strange smells. Anastasia realized this residence didn't belong to her in way fashion and knew the owner was somewhere inside; either wreaking of death or basking into his manner of living like a pig yet still she felt determined to solve this strange mystery, even if it meant breaking into another's home and starting a little bit of trouble. This actress lived for drama and took pleasure in it every moment that would pass under the rule of the clock. As the Witch of Theater she was quite strong but nothing was more fun than slithering your way across the battlefield and leave them confused, without as so much as lifting a finger. Besides . . . what resident of the Endless realm would she become if there wasn't a keen passion to right the wrong and save the helpless? Ah, what a wonderful excuse.

Finely manufactured leather boots moaned from the ever growing weight built upon the heels, black leather squeezing the smooth flesh and thighs of the eternal's figure. The hilt feel at least within in an inch deep of filth before she finally noticed just how deep she was getting herself into, she wrinkled her nose and dared to lift it away into the open air for a few minutes. "...Ew, not even the ogre of Odysseus would reside in such a filthy place!" Whatever it was, it oozed and dripped from her boot - relentless to break away from her expensive foot wear. With an aggravated sigh she pressed on through, what it appeared to look like before the ungodly attack of filth, the living room and preceded through a flight of stairs. A few trinkets here and there but nothing that eased this woman into a faint. "Hello, is anyone here?" She called from a distinctive yet feminine voice, cupping one delicate palm near the edge of full scarlet painted lips before stretching her neck to listen. Alas, nothing. Little did she know the amount of trash and junk around this place would alter her hearing - completely dismissing the fact there were two men still inside.

Anastasia finally found her way into the bedroom with a simple sliding of the door, carefully moving anything out of walking distance so as to not be trampled by wall filled scum. What she expected to see was a littered and abandoned bedroom yet would finally come to see a young man appear in view, a strong handsome voice that she found herself recalling from long, long ago. Violet tinted jewels focused upon the strangers hunched form, drinking in each detail of his body before finally recognizing him as Tenrou; a servant of hers that had served her for many, many years before his sudden disappearance. "Shin? Doth my eyes deceive~?!" As if placed under a deep spell of surprise and joy, she traveled across the littered floors that distanced them apart with ease; despite her heels crushing and breaking many objects; and throwing her slender silhouette into his. Naturally he would've fell to the ground with her toppled over or used what strength he had to keep them balanced on foot, whichever way - it didn't matter. "Oh! How long has it been since we've seen each other, my darling servant boy?" Smooth luscious tiers smothered the young mans face by pressing themselves against his cheeks and lower chin, slender digits tangling themselves within the blond tresses of his hair.

Their history went far back, many years ago before Anastasia would reach that immortal age of three hundred when this servitor spirit was nothing more but a magus. A magus whom she controlled in search of curing her boredom and loneliness; of course, no one - despite their age and power, were overlooked by such a deep sorrow. Despite her many servants and friends who littered her home often for masquerade parties and dinner dates, Tenrou had always been her favorite. Less to say he was the only servant whom she would relentlessly tease in a sexual manner; feeding off his embarrassment whenever their figures collided in awkward embraces. A strange ordeal to gather your entertainment but nothing else pleased her any more than there episodes; although such teasing didn't create their complete business relationship. She was also quite sadistic and controlling for a woman second born with false smiles and kind behaviour; somehow falling into that twisted pleasure of achieving dominance of him by strange uses of torture. "I knew from the moment I found myself smelling this disgusting house, that our distant paths would collide again and our hearts melt into one once more~! As servant and master . . .", she purred affectionately fading into a soft giggle, shamelessly groping the younger man by his hair and chest with her ever so curious hands.

[Tenrou Kurokaze]

As Aiden left the room, trying to make his way to the living room across the ocean of waste, Tenrou heard his question. He started going to the cinema some 10 years ago. It all started with an accident. He got into a fight, and during his fight he almost destroyed the area. Some magi didn't like him messing up the London downtown, so they started a hunt. He was too tired to think clearly, and thus ended up in the most crowded building he found, trying to loose his pursuers, instead of simply leaving the Mortal World.

"If i had to choose one I'd say..." started Tenrou, when he heard a feminine voice. "Shin? Doth my eyes deceive~?!"

'It can't possibly be her, can it? No, no, no! There's just no way she would find me.' He had no time to regain his composure before the woman's body hit him, and by the time his mind processed all the data, he was already lying on the now somewhat clean floor. Looking at his attacker, he started getting nervous. It was her. Anastasia Lacusta, former master of one lazy mage called Tenrou Shinrai Kurokaze, geomancer and smith.

It's been a long time since he met her. Probably after his real death. What he never mentioned to others was the fact that he was hit by the spell of a Necromancer. He wasn't sure what happened, but when he woke up, he found a mage standing over him, garbed in black, holding a crystal in his hands. The man uttered a single word: 'Success." before leaving him lying in the room. A few days later he regained enough of his magic to carve himself a tunnel out of his prison, only to find his world changed. Later he found out that some dark wizards were experimenting with a process to preserve a living human. They would extract his soul, and preserve the body with their magic. Then at a later date the souls could be returned to the bodies, effectively resurrecting the victims.

He never found out about the year. He settled down by a pond, built himself a shack using his magic and a few weeks later a strange woman found him. She was drop-dead gorgeous, and she was a charming person. With others. His 'master' teased him continuously, and being a 17-year-old, it wasn't hard. íhe served her as butler, guard, errand boy, and anything else she came up with. He would never admit that he liked those years, but they were never dull, unlike most of his life before the "experiment". True, her... unique attitude slightly traumatized him.

"Ahh, it's so nice to see you again, m'lady." said Tenrou with a nervous smile, as sweat was forming on his forehead, the sign of his nervousness.

"I think it's been almost 200 years, I think. I don't really keep track of time anymore. People tend to do that if they die." said the spirit, his smile wavering a bit, a sliver of sadness in his eyes. He got used to being a spirit, but it wasn't everyday that you died. And he didn't even tell his master about it. Some servant he was.

Finally getting control of his nervous and confused thoughts, he tried to squirm out of her hug. Over his years as a servitor not only he gained power of magic, but he learned to hide his embarrassment better.
"So, um, would you mind getting off me m'lady? This is kind of uncomfortable..." 'And embarrassing as well...'
"I've got to clean this place. I have no master now, and I thus I'm a public servitor spirit." said Tenrou, some cheerfulness in his voice now, but that tiny glint of sadness and regret still remained in his eyes. Meeting the only connection to his past caused some good, and bad memories to resurface after all those years.

Tag Aiden and Ana
Words 643
Notes Hi there ^^
Music Once upon a Troubadour by Nightwish

made by Khordak

[Aiden Rhytek]

Even as Tenrou began to answer Aiden's question about his favorite films, the Servitor Spirit was cut off. What was holding the man up? Turning around, Aiden slowly closed the door behind him before venturing back the way he had came. Down the narrow hallway and up the stairs—before him, he saw the blurred imprint of a silhouette before the person turned the corner into his room. Aiden sighed and reluctantly followed. All he had wanted was a clean house for once. This was quite unfair. Why did such troublesome events always happen around him? First the Seelie fae who had nearly been kidnapped by a waiter, then the halfling who had wanted to find his lost sister and now this—an intruder in his beloved home. But upon stepping into the room, a sight Aiden had not been expecting met his eyes.

There was a woman—brown-skinned, dark-haired—pressed against Tenrou. And yes from the feel of her, she was another Eternal. Pah. His kind were so boring. There was simply no other way to put it. Aiden tried to avoid his fellows as much as he could, but there was nothing he could do if she chose to come to his house. Well, short of kicking her out, but Aiden wasn't rude enough to do that without provacation. Leaning against the doorframe, he listened to their small talk. Disgusting smelling house? Maybe it could use some cleaning, but disgusting was going a little far, Aiden decided. Picky, fastidious women, always butting in where they didn't belong. If the place dismayed her so much, then she simply shouldn't have come. As simple as that.

But Tenrou's response intrigued Aiden. This woman had been his previous mistress? Was she the one who had transformed him into a Servitor Spirit, in that case? His attentioned re-focused on the woman. He didn't recognize her and her voice hadn't triggered any sort of memory re-call, so she was either younger than him, or one of the very old ones who rarely ventured out these days. But from her uncaring, flippant behavior, Aiden pegged her as younger than he was. The ancient Eternals were rather more reserved and a lot less fun. So if she was younger than Aiden was, and she had created Tenrou, did that make Tenrou younger than him as well? What a disappointment. Being an Eternal made Aiden feel old, even if he still appeared only twenty-two.

“He's right,” Aiden said once Tenrou fell silent, after informing the woman he was now a public Servitor Spirit. “And right now, he's cleaning my house. What you want to do with him afterwards is your own concern, but I would very much appreciate it if you would let him finish his job. Which reminds me—fellow Eternal or not, exactly what are you doing in my house?” Long centuries had filed away at Aiden's temper—being a hothead was simply exhausting when you had a never-ending life, but he still wasn't exactly the most passive man.