I gently put the different herbs into different compartments, while Astral watched me.

"I'm happy you liked your gift," he said hoarsely. He meant the bag. And I didn't just like it, I loved it.

I smiled at him, watching him over the rim of my specs. The room was bright, and I needed to be able to see. "I love it. I'm still amazed you found something like this."

"I had it made." He coughed a little and I rose from my seat on the floor, helping him sit up so he could drink something.

He was still weak and running a fever, but at least he was no longer having visions. His mouth still tasted like death, he said, and it was good I had restocked my bag because he really needed a lot of the ingredients I had bought.

"You had it... Made for me?" My eyes widened a little.

He nodded slowly, his eyes closing briefly before opening again. "I knew you'd want to bring them when we finally started our travels. Bring your remedies. So, I had it made."

I leaned forward and kissed him, my hands on his cheeks, gently running my thumbs over his skin.

"You should've told me sooner."

"Nah. I didn't wanna influence you with gifts."

"You've been giving me gifts for years though."

"Yeah, I kind of..." He looked to the side, biting the inside of his cheek. "I don't know. Maybe I thought you'd know I cared if I continued to give you gifts."

"I always knew you cared."

"Not like that, Mars." He smiled and put his hand on mine. "I've never seen you as a friend."

"Why didn't you say something?"

He shrugged. "To be honest, I wasn't sure if you felt the same."

"You know now though, right?" I tried to bite down my smile. Was this it? Was this finally the time he'd tell me he loved me?

"I know," he murmured and closed his eyes.

I held my breath for a while longer, until his breath got heavy. He had fallen back asleep.

"Alright, I'll wait," I whispered and kissed his forehead. I tugged him in and went back to stocking my bag.

Astral was finally well enough to come downstairs and have something to eat. Just leaving the room seemed to do wonders for him. While still weak, he seemed more upbeat as he joked around with Keefe. The two of them had bonded a lot lately and I was happy. I was so inherently happy as I watched my little group. My little family, really. I had never felt this feeling before. Being surrounded by friends and having a good time. Sitting and chatting about nothing really, joking with each other.

Astral's fingers were intertwined with mine on top of the table, his thumb occasionally running over mine.

But then someone stopped by our table. A rather tall man with a completely bald head and dressed in a robe. No one dressed in robes. That was... Weird. It was beige too, and honestly who wanted to wear a beige robe?

"Star-child," he said with an incredibly soft voice.

Oh, sun and stars, and everything holy. Not this again.

I still hadn't gotten around to telling Astral about what had happened in the temple. I still wanted to mull it over on my own. The fact that there were others like me out there, that this might not be a curse to some of them, that there was a whole cult surrounding us? I wasn't sure how to deal with it, so I had chosen to not deal with it at all. I had buried it so far down in my mind, that there had only been room for Astral.

But now I had no choice but face it.

"Please accept this offering from the temple of the Star." The stranger put a package on the table wrapped in cloth matching his ugly robe.

"Please don't. Please, leave me alone," I muttered and pushed the package back towards him. He only smiled, bowed... Bowed at me. And then he just left us!

I wanted to bury myself.

"How very odd but still nice," Keefe noted and poked the package. He was sitting across from me.

"You can have it, whatever it is," I muttered and pushed it toward him.

He looked extremely excited as he tore the cloth off to reveal a wooden box. He opened it and pulled out a book. Poor Keefe didn't look as excited anymore as he opened it, flicking through some pages and then handed it to me.

"I can't read," he said and shrugged.

I quickly scanned the first page and rolled my eyes. "It's a book about the temple of Stars."

Astral took it from me and raised an eyebrow. "Why is that weird guy giving you this and calling you star-child?"

I sighed deeply and told him about Zeke's and my weird experience.

"So, there's more of you. And some are quite old? Mars, this might mean this wasn't a curse, but something genetic, you realise that, right?"

"Or it's an old curse that has been used before and is still used." I shrugged and poked at my food.

"You don't even wanna explore the possibility of you not being cursed?"

"What's the point? I'm content with being cursed. It's what I've always been told."

He put his hand on top of mine, stopping me from poking my food to shreds. "Mars."

"If it's a curse, it might be lifted. If it's genetic then..." I bit down on my lip and looked up at him.

"If it's genetic there might be a cure. And if there's a cure, it might be through remedies. And who's a genius in those?" He leaned in and kissed my cheek. "You are," he whispered.

That did make me feel a little better about it all.

"If it's genetic, wouldn't that mean Mars is a mage?" Zeke asked.

It felt like my heart stopped for a moment.

"It would, yes. Even if Mars has no other abilities, this would make him a mage. Like how some mages only have The Sight and no other abilities. I would definitely categorise genetic immortality as a mage feature."

"I could be a mage," I said quietly and smiled up at Astral.

He smiled back and nodded, sending me one of the very few soft looks he preserved only for me.

"Why didn't you tell me about your cult following?" Astral asked from his position on the bed. He was still recovering, and he tired out fast.

I rolled my eyes and looked up from my notebook. "Because I didn't want you to worry about nothing."

"It is something though. It could be the answers you've been looking for. Why wouldn't you share that with me?" He supported his head against his hand, giving me a... Hurt look.

"Honestly, Astral, because you have enough on your plate right now. This doesn't matter." I put my book down and rose from the small table, joining him on the bed. "None of this matters. It won't change anything. So what if I'm a blessed star-child or a cursed useless moron. It doesn't matter. In the end, I'm just me."

He sighed deeply and raised his hand, cupping my cheek with his palm. "Of course. But this was still something that happened to you. If we're gonna do this, we need to be open about these things, so I don't look like a complete idiot when someone comes up to you and addresses you as 'star-child'." He ran his thumb under my eye. "Please, let me fight your battles with you for once." He gently pulled me down and kissed me. I couldn't help but sigh against his lips.

"Alright," I murmured and pulled back a bit. "I just didn't want to add to your burden."

"You're not adding anything, Mars. You've been carrying me for years. Let me at least shoulder a bit of your battle too."

"It's not like you've been standing idly by, Astral," I said a little too pointedly. "You've been there every time my skin got burned by the sun, rubbing rose oil on it. When I've literally died, you've been there."

"All that has just been very easy though, and I don't feel like you've had an easy time with... Me."

I took his face in my hands. "I'd do it a hundred times over. No, it's not always easy and I'm not gonna pretend it is, but it doesn't deter me. If it were too much, would I even be here still? I could've run off in the middle of the night and left you to it."

He snorted and nodded. "You could have."

"But I didn't."

"Because I'm too handsome."

I laughed and nodded, getting properly into the bed with him, curling up to him. "Entirely too handsome."

He pulled the covers up a little, so we were proper snug. "I'm also charismatic and funny."

"Hilarious and enticing."

"I hold a great conversation."

"The absolute best," I murmured and kissed the side of his throat. "You also have other qualities, but you'd blush if I started listing them."

"Oh, deary me, Mars. You cannot let a pure man such as myself blush. Not with dirty words." He laughed and grabbed me, getting me on top of him. "I'm a good boy, Mars. Don't corrupt me."

"I'll corrupt you all day," I murmured and kissed him, wiggling down between his legs.

"What will the townsfolk think of me after this?" he panted, helping me getting his shirt off him. "Surely there'll be talk of the impurity that has besieged me and my virtue."

I moved down, kissing his chest. "They can talk all they want, we know it's really jealousy." I moved further down, kissing his stomach and then his hip, pulling down on his undergarment. He had abandoned his trousers before getting back into bed, much to my delight.

He groaned my name when I took him in my mouth. His fingers found their way into my hair, the tips of them rubbing against my scalp. It felt really comforting and made the whole experience so much better.

Astral deserved this treat. He had been so worn out and tired so if this could get his mind off of his suffering, I'd gladly do it. I also enjoyed it. I enjoyed pleasing him. I felt powerful in a way. I wasn't sure if I could ever explain why, I felt powerful, but it was just... He was moaning because of something I was doing. If I stopped his pleasure would stop. The control felt amazing, and I'd probably never admit to getting off on it.

"Mars," he softly groaned and pulled a bit on my hair. I groaned back. I couldn't hold it in.

I carefully lifted my gaze, meeting his. He was smirking like he had just uncovered a big secret.

"We'll do something with that at some point," he murmured and pulled me up to his face, kissing me. His other hand circled around mine, getting me to move it over him.

He made another soft moan and then he was finished. The hand in my hair dropped down on the mattress and he smiled very contently at me, before cleaning his stomach with his discarded shirt. I laid down next to him and he curled up to me immediately. I loved it when he did that. He'd put his head on my chest and draw circles on the top of my stomach. It felt nice. I had a splotch of discolouration there too, but Astral didn't even seem to notice. His fingers indiscriminately ran over my skin, discoloured or not.

"I needed that," he murmured.

"I could tell," I snorted and kissed his hair. My fingers were idly playing with his green curls, loving the softness of them.

"I'd return the favour, but all my bones have turned to water. Might as well call me water-bones now."

I couldn't help but laugh. "It's alright. You don't always have to reciprocate. I like doing it."

"Yeah?" He smiled up at me, looking entirely too sweet. His eyes were wide and slightly shiny and so clear. Deep and brown like the richest of polished mahogany.

"Wouldn't be doing it if I didn't enjoy it." I shrugged a shoulder.

"Not even if I really enjoyed it?" He smiled a little wickedly at me.

"Maybe if you had been a good boy."

"I'm the best boy," he murmured and moved up, hovering over me. He slowly lowered his head and kissed me.

I chuckled and nodded when he pulled back up again. His hair hung like a curly curtain around his face, framing it beautifully. He moved back down again and kissed me. I circled my arms around him and got entirely lost in his lips and body.