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When Azem did not appear at Elidibus' appointment to his seat, he was told by the previous Elidibus and his fellow convocation members that this was normal—that sometimes Azem could not attend due to whatever reason they were out traveling the star. And so, Elidibus did not take offense that they were not present.
What his mentor and colleagues failed to tell him was what would happen when Azem did return.
It was two months into his tenure as Elidibus. His primary duty so far seemed to be reading, to ensure he was knowledgeable about the decisions he would eventually be called to referee. He read in his office in the Capitol, in case anyone did wish to find him and speak with him, but so far his office remained rather lonely. Until the day there was a knock on the door accompanied by a cheery "Hello!" as it slowly opened, the unknown person on the other side not waiting for a response.
Elidibus placed a bookmark in his tome and stood, ready to greet his visitor and curious as to who it could be. "Come in," he said, even though they were already coming through the door. The mysterious visitor wore black robes, which narrowed down the visitor not at all, and a red mask, which did. Once Elidibus saw the mask, taking a few moments too long to process the design that it almost veered on rudeness, he realized who had stopped by. "Oh! Honored Azem, welcome back. My apologies for not greeting you right away."
Azem took their hand off the doorknob and waved it through the air. "I've only just made it back to Amaurot, so I wouldn't expect you to come find me." Not quite what Elidibus had meant with his apology, but Azem continued, "And no need to bother with that 'honored' stuff. Just 'Azem' is fine while we're in this building." They smiled at Elidibus, warm and inviting. "It's nice to finally meet you, Elidibus. Sorry I couldn't make it back for your appointment."
Elidibus bowed his head slightly, accepting Azem's apology. "There is no need to apologize. As you are the seat of Azem, your duty is among our people. I am certain you were doing something important. I am glad to have the chance to meet you now."
Azem's warm smile turned a little rueful. "It's all important, yes. Which!" They lifted a hand and held up a finger. "Brings me to why I'm here! I checked and it's fine to steal you away for a few days. Can you meet me back here in an hour? We won't be going too far, but better to be prepared. Pack anything you might need—it's easier when you don't have to worry about finding aether to create something. You should bring something other than a robe to wear if you're comfortable with that."
His mind spun trying to understand the flurry of Azem's words. "I'm sorry, what do you mean 'steal me away'? What am I packing for?"
Azem tilted their head in confusion. "The Azem Field Trip." They paused, taking in Elidibus' confused state at hearing what were clearly important, but nonsensical words. "Did no one mention–oh." They brought a hand to their chin. "I probably should have explained first. Sorry, you're the first seat that's changed since I became Azem."
That wasn't correct. Emet-Selch was the newest member of the Convocation prior to Elidibus' appointment, having been appointed not long after Azem themself. Elidibus opened his mouth to mention this but Azem rolled right along.
"Since Azem is such a unique seat, there's a tradition whenever seats change out, to help the new Azem get to know the other member of the Convocation and help others to understand the role of Azem. With how much time Azems spend outside of Amaurot, it was determined they needed the extra help to ensure that they could still work seamlessly with the Convocation during the times they did return. And so the Azem Field Trip was born!" Azem grinned. "When I became Azem, I took each seat on a trip outside the city for a few days, so we could get to know each other and they could get an understanding of how I would work as Azem. And now that the previous Elidibus has stepped down, I get to take a trip with you!"
Elidibus wasn't used to the whirlwind that was Azem and took a moment to collect himself before responding. In concept, what Azem had described was a smart idea, to account for the seat's peculiarities and lack of regular cooperation with the rest of the Convocation. Elidibus wished someone had let him know before this moment, however, so that his first meeting with Azem was not showcasing his failure to be prepared. He didn't believe Azem would think poorly of him, and in fact their constant grin seemed to indicate otherwise, but Elidibus had been spending long days in the Capitol trying to prepare himself for every eventuality of his role and to have that effort undermined so soon stung a bit. But of course, this was not Azem's problem. Elidibus would have to collect what information he could before apparently leaving Amaurot. "Then I am looking forward to this time spent with you. You said we are departing soon? What additional information can you share about what we will be doing?"
Azem shook their head. "You don't need to worry about it. It's a quick jaunt out of the city and some camping. We won't actually be doing anything strenuous. Bring anything you can't do without for a few days, and I really, really recommend something to wear other than robes. The people we're going to visit find the robe thing weird."
Weird? Who were these people Azem was taking him to visit? But Elidibus wouldn't show his hesitation. He nodded. "Very well. You said I might have an hour?" Azem beamed and nodded. "I will return then." Elidibus would have to work fast to collect what he might need for the trip as well as attempt some quick interrogations of his colleagues as to what exactly this 'Azem Field Trip' would entail.
---
Azem hadn't been expecting the new Elidibus to be so stiff. Then again, he was picked by the previous Elidibus. But Azem had thought that perhaps his young age would shine through—clearly a bad call. Although, there was something to be said for getting out of the city. Maybe once they had worn him down a bit, the formality would lessen. After all, it's hard to be formal when you're slinging hay next to someone.
They hadn't bothered unpacking their bag from their previous trip, so they spent the hour bothering Emet-Selch in his office. He was annoyed they were going back out so soon, but that annoyance dimmed when Azem explained it was a quick trip with Elidibus and they'd be right back. After mentioning taking Elidibus, Emet-Selch cackled and didn't bother to explain why, waving Azem away. They pouted in response and shoved their hands under his hood to mess up his hair, zipping out of his office to the sound of annoyed yelling.
Exactly an hour later, Elidibus arrived back at his office with no visible bag. Azem shrugged to themself—they could probably take care of anything he really needed.
"I am prepared to take a trip outside the city," Elidibus said, still stiff but Azem would shake him out of it soon enough, they could tell.
"Great! To the north gate." Azem prepared to teleport there, sending out a string of aether to Elidibus to allow him to tag along. He flinched slightly at the first touch of their aether, but grabbed hold of it anyway and portaled after. By the time he arrived, they were already walking away from the city.
"Are we not summoning any mounts?" Elidibus asked as he began to follow after.
Quickly Azem realized their normal strides were too long for Elidibus, so they slowed the slightest—still enough to keep a brisk pace, but not so much that Elidibus was half-running after them. They wanted to put some space between them and the city, but didn’t need Elidibus collapsing on them. "Not today. Tomorrow to get to our destination, but today we're just getting out of the city a bit." Azem turned around to walk backwards so they could face Elidibus while chatting, and to more naturally slow their pace. Unchecked, Azem knew they walked quite fast, always eager to reach their next destination, but Elidibus probably needed a slower pace. "Have you ever been out of the city?"
Elidibus nodded. "The previous Elidibus journeyed with me to our allied cities, so that he might introduce me as his replacement. I had been to a few of them before."
"Anything outside the cities? Mountains? Beaches? Hidden caves?"
Azem could just barely make out Elidibus' nose wrinkling slightly under his mask. "My only travel experience is between cities,” Elidibus said. “No hidden caves, I'm afraid."
They grinned at him mischievously. "Maybe I'll put one on the itinerary. Getting lost in one is quite fun!"
"I shall take your word for it."
Elidibus' breathing was beginning to get rougher, so Azem left off the conversation so he could focus on their hike. It was to be expected—if the most he'd done was walk the city streets, the hills they were starting to climb could prove challenging. But they dragged him along anyway, listening to his breathing and planning to take a break at the next ridge so that he might recover. They'd started their hike late in the day, so it wouldn't be much longer before they'd need to make camp. Azem kept an eye out for a good location as they walked in silence.
After an hour of walking, peppered with short breaks as Azem pretended they needed to look at something while Elidibus stood still and caught his breath, they made it to a decent stopping place.
"All right," Azem said, "this looks good. I'll set up camp. You go ahead and sit down." Azem waved Elidibus towards a convenient rock. They'd get him something more comfortable in a bit, but for now he could recover there.
"Is there not something I could do to help?" Elidibus quietly wheezed, still standing next to them.
Helpful but unnecessary. Azem placed their hands on his shoulders and steered him to the rock, ignoring the slight bit of tension underneath their hands. "Nope. Sit." Elidibus sat. He watched Azem closely as they began to pull items and concept crystals out of their bag. Elidibus still seemed a little wary, so Azem would set up two tents, that he might have his own space to relax. In no time at all, the camp was complete, including two comfortable chairs around what would be their fire pit.
They fell on to one of the chairs and waved at Elidibus. "All set! Come over. It'll get chilly out here when the sun finishes setting, so you'll want to stay close to the fire."
Elidibus approached and took the other chair as Azem finished setting up the fire pit. There were plenty of concepts for keeping warm and providing light, but Azem liked the smell and sounds of a true fire and always made one whenever they were camping.
"Is this how you normally travel?" Elidibus asked.
Azem shrugged. "Sometimes. Sometimes I'm on a time crunch and need to be somewhere quickly. But even then, many small places don't have anything to easily attune to for teleportation, so there's still plenty of travel."
They watched Elidibus settle into his seat. So far, they thought, he seemed to have a good head on his shoulders. No complaints about the hike, unlike some of their other colleagues. The hem of his white robes had turned dusty and he hadn't seemed to notice, or perhaps didn't yet care to clean them. It might indicate a lack of concern for strict and proper appearances, which would be beneficial. The place they were going tomorrow would be far more welcoming to an unmasked, unrobed Elidibus. Azem would be going maskless and robeless regardless, but now out of the city, they wanted to see what Elidibus would do.
"A lot of my work involves meeting people who have very different values from Amaurot," Azem started to say. "I'm sure you've met such people, but it's even more stark away from the cities."
Elidibus nodded slowly. "Indeed. But that is one of the great things about our star, is it not? That these others can have their own values."
Azem grinned. "Not many would see it that way. You know our people are quite fond of our conformity, hiding ourselves with masks and robes. But others find joy in individuality, in one's appearances. The place we are going tomorrow is home to one such people. To better facilitate communication, I do my best to respect their values." They reached up to pull their convocation mask off their face and push back their hood, to a sharp inhale from Elidibus. "I will not ask you to do the same, but this is who I am and how I work. Out here, I am not always Azem. This village knows me as Apollo, and you are more than welcome to call me by that name."
It was a risk, giving their name to Elidibus and dropping so much on him at once, but a risk Azem took all the same. They were not fully settled in their seat when taking this trip with other Convocation members, but had they been, they would have done something similar.
"I—" Elidibus seemed struck speechless, which wasn't a great sign. He sighed and straightened in his chair. "Thank you for trusting me with this information. Though it is the custom of our destination, it is not of our home and I can imagine it took much work to become comfortable in this way."
Not what Azem was expecting, but a positive response. With their mask gone, Elidibus would be able to make out the fact that their smile always showed in their eyes. "Not as much as you might think."
Elidibus nodded, but seemed to be pondering something. Soon, he spoke up. "In order to better understand your seat, I believe it would behoove me to follow your example." He lifted a hand to his own mask, paused for just a moment in hesitation, then pulled it away. He didn't lower his hood, but he did now look at Azem with vibrant blue eyes. "You may call me Themis."
"Themis," Azem repeated. "It's nice to meet you. You have beautiful eyes." Elidibus—Themis—blushed a brilliant red, raising a hand to partially cover his face, and Azem couldn't help but laugh. Their people were terrible at receiving visual complements—it reminded them of the first time they saw Hades and tried to complement his eyes. Azem couldn't help it if all their friends and coworkers had nice faces hidden under their masks! "Sorry," Azem finally said, laughter trailing off. "I shouldn't laugh. But you may have to get used to people complimenting your face on this trip!"
Elidibus slowly lowered his hand, looking down into the fire rather than at Azem. "I shall endeavor to accept any compliments in the spirit that they are given. To understand the values of those who live on our star, that we might better lead them."
Azem smiled. "That's all that I ask."
---
It was a bright morning and Alexandria was almost finished feeding the animals when she noticed a pair of figures cresting the nearby ridge and headed towards her. She raised a hand in greeting and got one back from the taller figure. She waited patiently for the two to approach, curious what would bring strangers around her farm, only to realize as they closed in that one was not a stranger at all.
"Apollo! What're you doing back here?" Alexandria called out.
A grin lit up Apollo's face as they came to a stop in front of her. "No business to worry about," they replied, tossing an arm around their companion's shoulders and dragging him forward. "I'm taking my little brother here on his first trip outside the city. Themis, Alexandria. Alexandria, Themis."
Said little brother's eyes darted up towards Apollo, something like astonishment rolling across his face before blooming into an embarrassed smile, cheeks dusted red before he turned back to Alexandria. "Hello," he said quietly.
A shy one, then. And not a brother by blood, by Alexandria's guess, but she was plenty curious about a brother of Apollo's heart. "Welcome. Apollo helped us out some few months ago, so any sibling of theirs is welcome." She glanced at Apollo. "Anything in particular you were looking to show him?"
"Are you done with the morning chores?" they asked. "I thought maybe we could help."
Alexandria waved a hand over her shoulder. "A couple more over there if you want to get them and then join me back at the house for breakfast."
"Great! We'll go do that!" Apollo grinned and pulled Themis in tight, making him stumble into them. "Come on, Themis, let me go show you my favorite girl." A beat, then Apollo's eyes darted to Alexandria in worry. "After Alexandria, of course."
She laughed and waved them away. "Go feed them, you goof. Nice to meet you, Themis. Don't listen to half of what Apollo says—they're making it up." She started back for the house, an indignant "hey!" from Apollo echoing from behind her accompanied by a quiet chuckle from Themis.