Coye 6.22

Chapter 22 - Live Forever As You Are Now

Sylvandiel's creation myth wasn't too dissimilar from that of many other realms. In the beginning, there was darkness until there wasn't. A creator deity then rose from the formless nothingness through inexplicable means and put into action events that saw the foundation of Sylvandiel. From Merodallia's song of light and beauty, the realm of Sylvandiel sprouted into existence. Her lyrics created vast swathes of forest, graceful meadows, and seas of gleaming silver. This harmony created the first elves, and the goddess was delighted she needn't ever sing alone again.

Taken with her creations, Merodallia granted her children numerous blessings- as many as there were stars in the sky. Elves were given their ethereal appearance, natural affinity for all forms of magic and art, and, most infamously, the ability to live forever in Merodallia's golden graces.

Such a was the gift that took the light from the goddess, robbing her of her consciousness. Having burned through so much of her power, Merodallia took the form of the blessed tree of harmony, where she remains to this very day, slowly recovering her voice under the watchful eye of the high elves of the golden city of Sindeiria Tirriasi so that she might sing again.

It was a common misconception that elves were immortal. While that was undoubtedly the goddess's intention, imbuing an entire race with everlasting longevity was more than she could handle alone. Her gift worked in that all elves were born with a set amount of the goddess's blessing within their bodies, a vestige of the song sung to the first elves. This vestige was the source of their long life. By default, the lingering will of Merodallia allotted all elves one thousand years to live in peace and harmony. This lifespan can be extended only by drinking from the singing sap of the tree of harmony- a handful being enough to see them through another millennium. Regardless of Merodallia's intentions, the high elves took it upon themselves to restrict access to the tree and only allow those who could pay substantial tribute for the right of extended being.

Assuming he didn't die on the job or through other unfortunate circumstances, Coye had roughly four hundred and eighty years left.

Human life expectancy in Karnalle varied wildly from province to province, and many variables had to be factored in to get an accurate estimate. For a reasonably well-off Guild Mistress with excellent healthcare and access to a fantastic healer, Dorothy had anywhere from forty to a hundred years left- and the kicker was that she wouldn't even look eternally young and beautiful like Coye would. Suzette had even less time before that happened, and Coye didn't know how long a gengaggi lived- he was too terrified to ask. The only person in his life that could be counted as a constant companion was Shayla, who told him in the past that they had comparable lifespans.

As for everyone else...

Coye never thought about it if he could help it. Knowing that everyone he loved would wither, gray, and become dust as he survived century after century only made him second-guess every decision. If he allowed himself, sinking into nihilism was inevitable. He'd had one month of love, lust, and supposedly unforgettable experiences, but what was a single month when it was only one out of six thousand?

Why bother making connections? Why bother falling in love with someone who wouldn't last? Would it be fair to them?

Dorothy clearly didn't think it would be. She wouldn't have brought it up otherwise. His thoughts were getting ahead of him, and Coye knew he couldn't escape this topic any longer. Even so, he tried. He scooted several feet away from Dorothy and made his way to the edge of the bed.

Dorothy couldn't help noticing the immediate change. She'd never seen Coye look so weak before and never as scared. Guilt coursed through her upon witnessing his sorry state. She didn't know he was so sensitive about this topic and hated herself for her lack of sense.

"Oh, gods. I'm sorry, Coye. This is why I tried to say we didn't have to talk about it tonight. I knew it would be a difficult subject, but-"

"But you don't want to have a couple of fun decades with me before you start aging, and I don't," Coye muttered. He didn't sound sassy, accusatory, or rude. More understanding than anything else. "I get it. I wouldn't blame you if you didn't think it was worth the hassle."

"What? No, I..." Dorothy read Coye entirely wrong. From her side of things, it sounded like he was guilting her. Something he never would've done if he was in a healthy state of mind. "That's not what I'm trying to say, not at all. Oh, dear. I really should've bought a book or something that tells you to have this conversation..." she mumbled, rubbing her temples. She was close to crying but held off with all her strength.

'Coye, I know this is hard for you, but you need to hear her out!' Shayla could sense every last bit of his pain, tearing her tiny heart into a thousand pieces. 'This is as hard on her as it is on you.'

Coye understood that, but it didn't make it any easier. He forced himself to nod. "Sorry. Say what you want to say, and I'll listen."

Dorothy had second thoughts about continuing, but she tried pivoting and reinforcing the point she was trying to make in the first place. "I'm trying to say that I'm open-minded about this. If it doesn't bother you that I will grow old one day, then... I... I'm okay with having a relationship with you."

"Would you really be okay with it, though? Or are you just saying that to make me feel better?"

Shayla shoved her face in her palm, and Dorothy slumped her shoulders.

"I'm saying I love you enough to try, Coye. Rather, I love you enough to think the heartbreak is worth it."

"But there will be heartbreak, you're saying. It's inevitable. Right?"

His nihilism threatened to swallow her whole. "Well, no. But... it's not as if I'm not scared of the fact that I won't always look appealing to you... and sure, knowing you'll live on long past your time with me and take on other lovers makes me think of things I'm not proud of..."

"Just say it. You're worried I'll forget you."

"No!" Dorothy raised her voice, now having failed the battle to conceal her tears. "My rational mind knows you'd never forget me. I know you better than that, Coye! But... I'm not always a rational person. The thought that it might happen scares me, but not enough that I'm unwilling to be with you!"

"What did you hope to accomplish by bringing this up? I'm a little confused."

"I... I only wanted to touch on the subject because I'm serious about you, and I wanted to ensure you knew. Perhaps it wasn't fair, but I expected you would swat away my fears like usual and comfort me. I don't know. I thought you'd tell me sweet nothings like how you'd never forget me, or that you'd love me forever or... Coye... I'm so sorry..."

"No, I'm the one who's sorry. I can't comfort you on this. The only thing I can do here is tell you if you want to be with me, then..." Coye shut his eyes. He was already being unreasonable. Why not a little more? "I'll do everything I can to stop you from aging."

"...What?"

'Baby...' Shayla sighed. This was getting worse and worse by the second-he was about to start bargaining.

"I'm saying I don't care how expensive it is. I'll get even stronger and grind out so much gold until I can afford anything and everything that could help. Magic beauty products, glamours, alchemical potions... actually, Coco was telling me just the other day when we were talking about this-"

"Coco?" Dorothy tilted her head, now completely lost.

"Yeah..." Coye smiled and started mumbling. He was like a drowning man latching onto a lifeboat. "She said there are all kinds of magic bullshit out there, and she's right. It doesn't just have to be stopping you from aging- I could stop you from dying before me, too. There's gotta be something out there in one realm or another that could pull that off, right? There are ways we could fight this- ways we could make it work!"

'Are you listening to yourself talk?' Shayla cut him off. 'You're acting delirious. You need to tell Dorothy to go home, Coye. Now. I promise I'll make everything better if you just see her out the door for tonight, so, please...'

He didn't listen. He just kept rambling on to himself and to Dorothy, who didn't know where she should go with this.

What made it complicated for Dorothy to talk about was that while clearly a form of bargaining, Coye's words were absolutely true. Realmspace as they knew it was filled with gods, magic, and, as he so succinctly put it, various forms of bullshit. Immortality was not an unachievable goal. Immortals weren't common enough that you were ever likely to run into one, but enough documented cases existed that a scholarly mind like Dorothy's could never discount their existence. Thus, she stood at an unenviable crossroads. Was this the point where she encouraged him and pretended everything could be okay, or would she remain realistic and try to help him maturely navigate the difficult issue?

She decided to temper his expectations and attempt to mix optimism and skepticism equally. Dorothy would be gentle with him but wouldn't mince words, either.

"It's true that there are ways to live longer or even become outright immortal, yes. I've read about all sorts of monsters that supposedly slow, stop, or reverse aging in some way or another, but those cases are so rare that they might as well not even exist. On top of that, most confirmed sources of immortality are usually of the 'you get more than you asked for' variety and aren't worth the hassle. Then, there are magical and alchemical solutions like the philosopher's stone, but I wouldn't know much about those by comparison..."

There was a few moments of silent recognition before Coye asked, "So you're saying it's possible?"

'Damn it, Coye...'

The attempts at tempering his expectations failed. Coye was only getting even more overly optimistic. It hurt Dorothy, but she had to change the goalpost and make another important point.

"Yes, but... oh, gods... let me put it this way. I'm not the only person you would need to find immortality for. You could probably bribe the high elves for additional singing sap if you became a famous enough adventurer, but where would that leave Byng and Suzette? You're talking about three people at least, and... um... if your recent behavior is anything to go off of, probably more..."

"I'll make it work," Coye said, determined.

"Okay. Let's say you somehow do find an answer to provide immortality for, ah... however large your harem ends up becoming..." Dorothy looked off into the distance, her cheek suddenly red. She was twiddling her thumbs in nervousness over what she was about to say. "There's another logistic you're not taking into account. I don't know about you, but, um... I think I would like to have kids one day, so..."

Shayla would've thought this was moving way too fast in any other scenario. This was definitely not first-date conversation material. Even having the lifespan talk pushed it, but that was at least a serious topic that would understandably need to be discussed before beginning a long-term relationship. In the context of how Dorothy brought it up, though, Shayla believed she had a good point about having kids.

Of course, someone took it a little too seriously.

"I want kids!" Coye blurted out in a moment of manic honesty. "Lots of them, I think? Not sure yet. But, yeah. Definitely kids in the future."

Shayla slumped over, as close to dead inside as she could feel. 'Now is not the best time for you to activate your weird impregnation fetish like its one of your RealMonster spells, dummy...'

"L-Lots...?!" Dorothy blinked rapidly and covered her mouth. She tried not to picture how that might look, but that didn't go well. Her imagination was so vivid that she could practically hear the pitter-patter of little quarter-elves stomping around the cabin.

No, no...

Dorothy shook her head and refocused herself.

"Coye, you're just proving my point. Would you be happy having children and watching them wither before your eyes, or could you content yourself with never having any to ensure that never happened? I hate to say it, but if you think finding immortality for so many people is going to be easy, then... well, suffice it to say I believe there would be many more clans of immortals running around..."

"Oh..." Coye muttered. He hadn't thought about that, and just like that, he was grounded back in reality. All the false hope he'd been cultivating started withering into nothing.

'It's okay, baby. It's okay...' Shayla was still fighting this losing battle. Intent on not letting him fall to his fears, she was a little more flexible on what she would say to make him feel better. 'I know I'm usually the more realistic one here to the point of coming off cynical sometimes, but fuck it. If immortality for all your lovers and your future kids is something you absolutely need for your life, then you already know I'm going to support you. Who gives a shit how unrealistic it is? You'll make it happen. Focus on those words, Coye. You'll make it happen!'

Contrary to her motivational speech, Shayla didn't think Coye would make it happen. She was saying what he needed to hear, but in the back of her mind, a persistent thought nagged at her. She didn't think he would defeat Auguris, either...

Shayla's words got to Coye and kept him from reaching the brink. He clutched his fist to remain grounded, and soon after, Dorothy took action. Seeing how bad he was doing and unaware of the other girl in the room feeding self-affirming messages directly into his brain, Dorothy believed herself the only one who could help him. This time, she was the one who pulled him in for a hug and not the other way around. It was a strange sensation, being the hugger and not the huggee, but Dorothy held him tight and didn't let go, pressing him straight into her chest.

"I'm so sorry I brought this up, Coye. Really, I am..." she told him in a low whisper. "There's no doubt in my mind that you won't go to any lengths to make us happy together, so let's focus on that. Things are going to be great for us, aren't they? Look at us. You and me, alone in your bed, hugging each other... what more could you ask for, Coye? I can't think of anything, but if I can do something to make you feel better, um... all you have to do is say the word..."

Being smothered by Dorothy's love and large breasts did the trick, combining with Shayla's help to bring him into something resembling a stable mood. Coye hugged her back just as tight. Even if he felt a little better now, the night was still ruined. He blamed himself for that. How was Dorothy supposed to know he had a kink in his armor?

He wanted to apologize, but all Coye could do was lean against Dorothy and allow her to comfort him. If only there was a way to reset things- to make him more optimistic and careless so they could still enjoy the rest of their night together. That's when it hit him. Wasn't there something Shayla could do about that? She wouldn't be happy about it, but maybe if he asked nicely enough...

'Shayla, I'm doing a bit better now, but I'd feel a lot better if you gave me some help.'

'Oh, uh... what did you have in mind, big guy?'

'Is there any way you could transfer me some of your mana from over there?'

'...Baby, I know that probably sounds like a great idea to you right now, but I don't think that's the answer. Are you forgetting how that made you really frisky and crazy?'

'No, but it also made me feel super happy, and I could use a shot of that right about now.'

Shayla dug her nails into the sides of her forehead, conflicted. The shit she did just to see him smile. If he pressed her on this, she'd do it. Shayla couldn't even pretend she didn't know that. Knowing it wouldn't come, she begged for the strength to turn him down.

'Please. Even if it's just a little bit, it would really help...'

'I don't even know if I can do it from over here, baby! Last time I did, we were in physical contact with each other.'

'You could try?'

'I could, but...' Shayla sighed and considered her options.

If she went and did what he wanted, could she prevent the nasty side effects from happening? If not prevent, then perhaps mitigate? She looked around the room and noticed something that might be useful. Coye had expert reflexes and an excellent sense of danger, but Shayla could probably get the upper hand on him when overstimulated.

It was worth a shot, and she could always escalate from there if need be.

'You know what, fine. I'll see if I can send you mana from here. But only because you're feeling so bad, you got that?'

Coye hugged Dorothy tighter, much to her surprise and confusion. 'Thanks. Just let me know if it doesn't work, and I'll come up with an excuse to sneak you outside for a sec.'

'Yeah, yeah. Hang tight...' the enabler grumbled, closing her eyes to focus more heavily.

Like before, she noticed the metaphysical connection they shared without much trouble. If the distance between them made this any more difficult, Shayla couldn't tell. She could pass a drop of mana from here to there like it wasn't a big deal. Probably wouldn't work from too big of a distance, but he was only a couple of feet away from her position, and the transfer went off without a hitch.

The hitch came after the transfer.

Initially, things weren't so bad. A warm sensation of perky stimulation and intense vigor coursed through Coye's body, enveloping him like a second hug but on the inside. Any lingering negativity in Coye was lost to oblivion, replaced with an otherworldly sense of wholeness. The sensation gave way to arousal, as Shayla feared, but it wasn't as pronounced as the first time.

Dorothy noticed a change in the way Coye was hugging her. He nuzzled his face in her chest, pressing his body against hers. This wasn't unwelcome, but it came out of nowhere from her perspective.

"Coye? Are you, ah... feeling any better...?" Summoning some bravery, Dorothy improved her support by running her hand along his head like she was petting him.

"Lots and looots..." Coye sighed dreamily. The longer he hugged her, the more Shayla's mana took hold of his system. Something new rose up from his increasingly overactive mind. He latched onto Shayla's earlier advice, repeating it over and over.

Make it happen...

Make it happen...

Coye slowly pulled himself from his comfortable pillows and laughed without any prompt. "You know, it's funny..."

'Heeeere we go...' Shayla slumped over in exasperation. Nothing good ever started with the phrase 'you know, it's funny...' and a round of unsettling laughter in the darkness.

"Uh..." Dorothy looked down at him, his eyes glowing brighter than was possible in the dim light. "What's so funny, Coye?"

"Just... all of it, I guess," Coye tilted his head and stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I mean, it's funny to think I would even let you go old and gray. Seriously. Like that would ever happen! No, no, no. That's not gonna be how I do things. You're so beautiful and perfect that it would be a waste if you didn't live forever like a queen by my side until the end of time itself."

"Ah... ahaha... is, um... is that right?" Startled, Dorothy scooted back until she was pressed up against the headboard. His praise was monumentally too high for someone like her to process, and her glasses slipped from her nose. "While that's, um... certainly very kind of you to say, as well as a very nice thought, I-"

Steadfast, Coye shook his head. "Oh, it's not a thought. It's a promise. You raised a bunch of good points, but I only have one thing to say in response- so what? So what if immortality is hard to achieve? So what if I'd need some crazy solution?" Laughing even harder, he declared, "There's no point to life if I can't have endless fun with the girls I love and fill the realms with my immortal children!"

Shayla's eyelid twitched relentlessly. All it took was a single drop of her mana to turn the boy into some sort of evil emperor hellbent on exercising his impregnation kink across time and space. How the fuck?

Struggling for anything to say, Dorothy soon found out there really wasn't any appropriate response. When someone says what Coye just did, it raises a red flag. Because she knew him, though, Dorothy picked that there was more to this situation than meets the eye. She wanted to keep him engaged and try and get to the bottom of this.

"That's certainly a very lofty goal, Coye... don't you feel like it's too soon to be thinking about these things, though?"

"You were the one who brought all this up," Coye said, bringing out a measure of guilt in her.

"Er... well, yes, that's correct... but..."

"Either way, I don't believe it's too soon. I've read books about coping with my lifespan before, you know. They all say that getting this talk out of the way as early as possible is usually the best course of action... but if I'm being honest, I think that looking back, pretty much everything I saw in those books is bullshit. They all claimed that life has no meaning without death and that a story is beautiful because it ends. Hilarious. You wanna know what I think?"

"Of... of course. I would love to know what you think..." Dorothy gulped, hoping he would reveal more of his thoughts and feelings and help her understand how she might make things better.

"I think that's something a stupid loser would say to justify their fear of dying. Oh, it's inevitable, so that must make it a beautiful thing... fuck that, and fuck endings! I don't care what I have to do to stop it- there's not gonna be any of that shit in my life!"

As Coye's egotistical rambling spiraled out of control, a strange sensation took root in Dorothy and even Shayla. He wasn't just talking shit. Coye meant every word and was filled with so much confidence, conviction, and determination that it almost made them dismiss the manic way he delivered his speech. They almost believed him.

If only Coye had left things there, he might have made his point. Instead, going on about his impractical desires got the boy's blood flowing. Staring at Dorothy with less than pure intentions, he inched forward.

"Dorothy?" He whispered, his hands finding her bare shoulders.

"Y-Y-Yes, Coye...?" Dorothy shuddered, her heart wavering.

Realistically, she understood she should've been more scared than she was, but that Coye loved her so much it made him want to defeat death itself was the most romantic thing she'd ever heard. Yes, it was weird. Yes, his behavior was a little scary, yet... Dorothy discovered that maybe she liked scary...

The hands on her shoulders soon wrapped around her waist, and the next thing she knew, Coye had flipped their positions so that he was against the headboard, and Dorothy's back faced the center of the mattress. He pushed her down, causing Dorothy to yelp from the sudden forcefulness.

She looked up at him with trembling eyes, wondering what she should say or do. Would this make him feel better? If that was what he wanted, maybe it wouldn't be so bad... she bit her lip and was on the cusp of addressing him before he made another move on her that shocked her to her core.

Coye lowered his body, pinning her in place by lying atop Dorothy and planting his hands on both sides of her waist. He felt so heavy despite his light weight, but what really stood out to Dorothy about the experience was the part of Coye that was literally standing out.

He was hard, and it was pressing against her in just the right place that it swallowed her mind in a storm of confusion and fervent heat. For the most part, he remained still, which only made the situation worse. Her as her body cried out for more. She was shivering, sweating, and then he leaned into her ear and whispered six magic words.

"Are you ready to live forever?"

What was a girl supposed to say to that?

Well. No, obviously...

This was creepy as hell, and anyone in their right mind who wasn't a closeted masochist would've been freaking out... but it just so happened that Coye was pressing all the right buttons without even intending to. Although she hesitated to respond, Dorothy did manage to squeak out a token resistance after a moment.

"Coye, I... um... oh, gods..." she winced and shut her eyes, distracted. So it was true... men's things really did throb. "Wait a moment, didn't you say there was, a-ah... something you needed to tell me about before we did anything like... this?"

"She can wait a little bit," Coye dismissed Dorothy's concern with a shrug. "For now, I need to do something I should've done a long time ago."

"She...?" Dorothy blinked.

Before she could process any implications, Coye did what he was referring to and stole Dorothy's first kiss.

His lips pressed against hers with confidence and vigor, like he was returning them where they ought to be. Fear was the last thing on Dorothy's mind. At that point, everything she should've been concerned with was swept away by a blazing storm of affection. Coye was kissing her- passionately, at that. It came out of nowhere, but it was all she could think about once it did.

Intrusive thoughts kept popping up because of her inexperience. Dorothy didn't know what to do. She tried kissing him back but understood she wasn't any good at it. Trying to mimic his actions, Dorothy kept her lips moving and leaned her head at an angle, but it was like trying to tell a joke she didn't know the punchline to. Something crucial was missing, and that weighed on her mind. Doubts threatened to consume her, but a distraction soon relieved all that nonsense and made it difficult to think about anything else.

Coye's erection was now grinding against her skirt in full force. She could feel it as if there was nothing in the way between them. He was so hot and hard- and damn it all, it felt so right.

Never before had Dorothy been more aroused than she was as she felt that heat between her legs rise and rise. Not when she fantasized about this happening, and certainly not before. She wished Coye's forcefulness would never end and for him to do as he pleased until he was satisfied...

Dorothy was on the verge of instinctually bucking her hips into his but was stopped by the invasive wet, hot intruder she felt slipping past her teeth and tickling her tongue. Her first kiss had transitioned into her first make-out session, startling her into opening her eyes.

More so than the sight of Coye himself only an inch from her face, something stood out immediately. A frying pan was levitating in the air about a foot away from his head. Dorothy stopped kissing and squinted, thinking she was surely mistaken. Seeing Dorothy so distracted got Coye's curiosity to act up, and he must have sensed something in that split second he focused on his surroundings. He whipped his neck to look over his shoulder, but just as he did, the frying pan reared into the sky and smashed downwards.

A tremendous metallic clang rang out loudly upon impact, along with another, smaller clang as it hit the floor after the fact. Coye was knocked out cold- his reflexes activating too late to put up a Steel Soul barrier. Dorothy shrieked as he fell limp against her, lifting and shaking him by the shoulders.

"Coye! Are you alright?! Wake up! I... I don't know what's happening. I think there might be an intruder, or-" in the midst of her panic, she noticed a change in the environment.

Something fell from Coye's wardrobe, and it took Dorothy a moment to recognize it as his hat. That was puzzling, but things turned more bizarre after the cap stopped falling. It hovered in midair, flying closer and closer to Dorothy as she sat up to meet it, still holding Coye all the while.

Dorothy heard the sound of snapping fingers and began questioning reality after what happened next. The hat fell to the floor after a gust of wind struck, revealing a little luminescent lady with magic, fluttering wings. Rapidly blinking, Dorothy made wild assumptions to justify what she was seeing. Clearly, her first kiss with Coye was so intense it caused her to hallucinate. Why else would there be a pixie right in front of her nose?

That possibility flew out the window as time passed, however. Dorothy continued to stare and blink and rub her eyes, but the pixie was still there no matter what she did. A few seconds passed until the little fairy sighed, scratched the back of her head, and flew closer.

"Hey, Dorothy..." Shayla coughed, raising her hand in an awkward greeting. She then briefly glanced at the unconscious immortality aspirant and shrugged heavily.

"Ah..." Dorothy blinked rapidly, her head emptying into an enormous mass of uncertainty and disbelief. "H-Hello there? Um... pardon me if this is rude, but... who might you be, exactly?"

"Who, me? Well, funny story... I'm the secret that Coye was supposed to talk to you about."