Chapter 141: Book 3: A Remnant in Time
"You ever think about how weird this all is, Ethan?"
Ahkelios isn't looking at me. He's staring out over the city of Isthanok—specifically, over the semi-ruined city that everyone's still working to rebuild. Guard and his proxies are off working on that specific task until I'm ready to take the next step, and for now, I'm just... taking a break.
Or avoiding responsibility. Either one would be accurate, really.
"It's hard not to," I answer. "I mean, I don't know about you, but I wasn't exactly the warrior type back on Earth. I'm not sure I'm the warrior type now."
Ahkelios turns his head to stare at me. "You're making me really worried about what Earth thinks a warrior is."
I snort. "There's usually less shirts involved."
"Well, that's easily solved."
"I'm not taking off my shirt, Ahkelios."
The mantis snickers. He shifts a little on the branch he's sitting on, tapping contemplatively on the wood beneath him. "I was a scientist before all this," he says. "I painted as a hobby. I don't even remember what that was like anymore. I mean, I've got more pieces of those memories than I did before, but I still can't imagine myself sitting down and painting. And I know how much it meant to me."