Chapter 7-5

Brigadier General Ivan Ko’Alon was a minor figure in the Kendran Revolutionary War. He probably didn’t deserve a statue, but he was the most important war figure from Barret, so there was now a large stone statue of him in the centre of town. Its inscrutable expression watched over the city. It was also notable for being a great statue to climb on, and at any given time of the day there were five or six precocious children or troublemaking teens using the folds in Ko’Alon’s uniforms to scale the stone behemoth.

Leonas and Ash sat on the statue’s shoulders, looking out over the dark Kendran city. Ash was panting slightly. “Well that took me back. Most exercise I’ve gotten in a while, to be honest.”

Leonas looked equal parts bemused and unimpressed. “So far the highlights of the tour have been the bookstore you bought porn at, the restaurant that allegedly serves the best crapes in Kendran, and a statue to climb on. Real metropolis you have here.”

“Come on, this is great and you know it,” said Ash. “I’ll trade all six wonders of the world for a statue kids have fun climbing every day.”

“Is that an offer? Because I’d be more than able to get you a statue,” Leonas said with a laugh. “But seriously, you seem like a pretty smart guy. Someone with a face and a tongue like yours could do so much better. Why are you still in this crappy border town hanging out with a bunch of queens?”

“What was that about my tongue? I didn’t think we’d gotten that far yet,” joked Ash.

Leonas was surprised to find himself blushing. “I meant as in speech. You’re charming. Ah... you know what I mean.”

“Of course. But seriously, this is where I grew up. It sucks, but I love it.” Ash shrugged heavily. “And those ‘queens’ you talk about are my friends. They may act a little silly on the outside, but they’re good guys. And I’d rather be a queen than the guy brooding alone at the end of the bar.”

Leonas realized that his blushing wasn’t stopping anytime soon. He began to scale down the statue. “I just can’t help but feel that you could be doing better. At least seeing the world.”

“Doing better by whose definition?” asked Ash, deftly following across the brow of Ko’Alon’s nose.

Leonas reached the ground with a graceful landing. He didn’t really have anything to say, as for once his mind couldn’t seem to concentrate on the conversation. He felt hot, delirious almost. It was probably the booze. He had been warned about Kendran ale.

There was a silence, with both men trying to think of something to say. It was a mind-melting silence, that made Leonas question himself a thousand times before Ash finally spoke.

“It was nice meeting you,” Ash said, turning to go.

Leonas felt very distant, almost alien, as his hand seemed to reach out of its own volition and grabbed the wrist of the retreating Ash. Ash turned to stare at him slightly bemused.

“Don’t go,” was all Leonas managed to get out.

Ash smiled and kissed him forcefully. And he didn’t go.

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